The Serpent & The Butterfly (CURRENTLY EDITING)
by xXbriannaXx
Summary: The Martin twins were well known in the Beacon Hills community, they were beautiful and deadly, but that all changes when one of them leaves. Her departure leaves jaws dropping and hearts breaking, but her return may just be her downfall. Adelaide Martin doesn't expect to make new friends, or lose whatever sanity she has left, and she certainly doesn't expect to fall for Stiles.
1. The Return

**A/N: So...I've started another story, and I'll most likely alternate between this one and Wicked Games. This is actually a rewrite of a fic I did before, that was kind of badly written, and I missed it soo...here it is :D Thank you for reading it, you're awesome ;D Monkeygonetoheaven was someone that reaaaaally helped me out, so go check out her fics; _Rewritten: Welcome Home Nikita Grace_, and _Purple Daze_, they're both freaking amazing c:**

**Chapter 1**

**Black Sheep by Gin Wigmore**

The thing about planes was, they were small.

They were stuffy, and there was always some annoying little kid kicking the back of her seat. It didn't matter if she'd only been on one 4 times in her life, it was enough for her to build a natural resentment towards them.

Adelaide was going back home. No one knew of her return yet, well no one but her best friend. Everyone else was completely clueless, even her own mother. She was actually a bit terrified of her mother's reaction, seeing as she was the one who sent her to New York.

It was only natural for her to be a little restless. Excitement, impatience, and boredom all coursed through her being as she sat in the plane, playing Temple Run and listening to Kurt Cobain's beautiful voice through the small speaker of her earbuds, three days before school started.

Leaving New York, now that was something she was a little upset about. She loved New York, she did, even though sometimes she got a little impatient and almost always ended up shouting at those who wouldn't get out of her way, it was still a blast. What she didn't love, however, was her father and his never ending stream of girlfriends.

The back of her seat suddenly jolted as she thought about the girlfriend that sent her flying back to Beacon Hills as soon as Adelaide heard her screeching voice, and she closed her eyes praying for the patience to not smack a bitch.

It was the same kid that had been using her seat as a kickball for the last four times she'd been on a plane. It had to be, and she swore that kid was definitely Satan's spawn.

She decided it didn't matter after one particular blow sent her phone flying across the isle.

Her face was red with anger and her fists were clenched as she turned to give the kid a piece of her mind.

"Listen here you little shit, I have had enough of your kicking and crying. I am tired, annoyed, and _very _close to punching you in the face. Stop kicking my _fucking seat._" the boy looked to be about 10 years old, and terrified.

Thankfully, the lady next to him, his mother she presumed, was in a deep slumber. If she would have heard Adelaide screaming at her kid...well, that would've been awkward.

Unfortunately, the rest of the plane, was not. Most of those around her looked at her with disapproving glances that she ignored completely. It wasn't like they were the ones getting kicked, assholes.

She turned back in her seat and resumed her previous position.

When her earbuds were once again plugged in, she tried to get as comfortable as possible. The more she thought about it, the more she hated what was bringing her back home. Time seemed to fly by as she thought about what happened in the last 4 months.

New York was a great time, one of the best, but that wasn't all it was. It was also pretty fucking horrible. There were bad people that did bad things and hurt good people that did bad things for a good reason. It was a big mess and definitely not something worth repeating. Especially when-

Adelaide was jolted out of her thoughts when she heard the voice of a flight attendant echo throughout the plane.

"The plane will be landing in approximately 5 minutes. Everyone, please remain seated until further notice. Thank you."

She blew out a sigh of relief.

"Finally."

.

As soon as she was out of the plane and in the actual airport she checked her phone. Just as she suspected she had 1 message.

Her piercing blue eyes scanned the text message lazily.

_Asshole Bestfriend: Hey, I'm here, where the hell are you?_

She managed to roll her eyes before texting back: _Calm your tits, I just got out. Better yet, where the hell are you?_

Although her face was void of any make up, and her strawberry blonde hair was pulled into a high pony tail she still managed to ooze confidence.

Her denim shorts and marvel muscle tank wasn't enough to keep her cool, and small beads of sweat started at the base of her neck. She was just standing there with her suitcases behind her just as many others were.

When she decided she wanted to sit down, she passed the kid that had been kicking her seat for almost the whole flight back. He turned around and caught sight of her familiar face, he immediately cowered behind his mothers taller figure.

Yeah, that's right, hide behind mommy...dickwad.

The satisfaction that came with his reaction was a little mean, but whatever. It wasn't that she liked having people fear her...or maybe it was, but she only got along with one kid, and that little shit was definitely not it.

After she waited for 5 minutes, she decided to call him. There was no reason for him to be taking so god damn long to simply text back.

She put the phone to her ear after punching in his number. After 3 rings, his baritone voice reached her ears.

_"What?" _she could tell she was distracted.

"What do you mean, what? I've been waiting for you for the last million hours, asshat. Where are you?" She crossed one leg over the other and her converse clad foot bounced with impatience.

_"I've run into some minor complications." _as soon as she heard those words, she knew what he meant, and she was _not _happy.

He just left her hanging, all because he saw a cute guy.

_That little shit._

"Alexander Devereux, you get your ass here _right this instant_ or I swear to god I will send everyone the picture." when the words left her lips all she heard was the sound of his small gasp. He knew _exactly _what she was talking about.

"You're not the only one with the incriminating photos, babe." she could basically hear the smirk on his lips as he said it and she rolled her eyes. Well, that didn't work.

"Aleex." she nearly whined into the phone, "I'm hungry, and I've been sitting in a plane for a billion hours with some annoying ass kid kicking the back of my seat, and-"

"Oh my god, _shut up_." Alex cut her off and she could already see the roll of his eyes and the quirk of his lips. "I'll be there in a second."

She hung up with her lips curving into a small grin. She missed him so much.

Whenever she'd find herself in some new, wild adventure in New York she couldn't help but wish that her best friend was with her. How he'd react to the beauty of New York, what he would do to make it more fun, or what he would have told her father's girlfriends. He, just like her sister, was always forcing his way into her mind.

She finally spotted him, pushing people out of his way to get to her. His sandy blonde hair was in its usual mess, he claimed it looked sexy, and it kinda did, not that she'd every tell him that.

He'd changed since the last time she saw him, he was taller, his skin was tanner, and he was more muscular.

When he looked up, he finally spotted her. A big smile flew across her face as he literally shoved someone out of his way to get to her.

She was pretty sure she was grinning like a complete idiot; she even dropped her bags and held her arms out for him.

Sure enough, when he was close enough he pulled her too him in a bone crushing hug that she returned with the same amount of enthusiasm. She always loved his hugs the most; he was warm, and fluffy, and he didn't do those half-assed hugs. She closed her eyes, nuzzled into his familiar warmth and sighed contentedly. His familiar scent flooded her senses and she only hugged him tighter. A familiar calm settled over her as she nuzzled deeper into him. She had missed him so much more than she thought.

"You smell like sweat" he whispered into her ear as they clung to one another, effectively ruining the moment.

Adelaide let go of him and looked up at him with a small glare that held more amusement than it should have.

She punched his arm playfully.

"Shut up," she paused for a second before adding, "Now feed me."

.

After they'd gotten Adelaide bags and everything else settled, they hurried to the nearest Jack in the Box.

It may not have been as good as Tomy's Burgers, a burger joint in her hometown, but it was enough to settle Adelaide's mood.

"So, now that the beast has been tamed, are you going to tell me how New York was?" Alex asked as soon as she took her last bite of a huge burger. How someone so small could consume something so big, was beyond him.

He was excited to learn about her adventures in New York. He'd always wanted to go, in fact, he even made plans to live there with Adelaide when they were older. It was all a part of their little life plan. When he found out that she was going, he was a little jealous, but then he learned the reasons. She got to go to New York, while he had to stay in a boring, small town.

"Are the guys as pleasing to the eye as they say?" he added. The knowing smirk on her face told her what he really wanted to know. _Yes, yes they are._

"New York was everything they said it was. Overwhelmingly crowded, fun, adventurous, and filled with amazing shit. I mean there was some pretty bad shit too, but overall it was fun."

"That's it? I mean...no summer fling? No clubs? Come on, you know that that's not _all _there was." he winked, "I want all of the details, babe." his eyebrows waggled in a suggestive manner.

Adelaide's secretive smirk made him halt in his movements. He knew that look.

"So there _was _a fling?" he leaned forward in anticipation. "Do tell."

"Come on, Alex, you know I don't kiss and tell." her smug eyes told a whole different story as she regarded him with amusement.

"I have a feeling it was more than _just _kissing Ads." his eyes were twinkling as he kept talking, "Did you _luuurve _him?"

"No, definitely not. Besides, it was a one time thing."

"Ooooh, scandalous."

Adelaide rolled her eyes and smiled at her best friend.

* * *

They were finally on their way back home, which was only 30 minutes away from where they were before.

15 minutes had already passed, and all they'd done was talk about what happened while they were away from one another.

Some people actually assumed they were together, which in turn made them both laugh in their faces. It was rather hilarious to think that someone that was like a brother to you, would be considered a love interest.

By the time they were 2 blocks away from Adelaide's home, Alex questioned her on what really mattered in that moment.

"Well you're going to be home in like 2 seconds...your mom's going to be pretty surprised." he glanced at her from the corner of his eye, only to find her bored expression.

"So?"

"So...you should _probably _call her. Like now. Just - you know - a suggestion."

"How about _no_?"

"Your mom's pretty scary when she's mad, Ads, actually all of you are. But especially your mom. She's like...the lady hulk when she's mad. And I don't know about you, but that shit's scary."

They'd finally pulled into her driveway when she threw him a smirk.

"I'm Adelaide Martin, sweetheart. Us Martin girls don't do fear"

* * *

**A/N: **So did you like it? ;D I reaaally hope you did. I'd really appreciate it if you reviewed, it actually makes me really happy to read them, like really happy :D And if you have any questions, you can PM me c:

xoxo Brii (:


	2. We Missed You

**Chapter 2**

Adelaide Martin had never been the kind of person that liked surprises. In fact, she hated them, so when she entered her home to find just about everyone she knew in her house yelling 'Surprise' at the top of their lungs, she punched the person right in front of her.

It just so happened to be Jackson Whittmore; her frienemy.

Everyone went silent as soon as he went down. He was holding his bruising jaw delicately and groaning in a agony, cursing her existence as he withered in pain.

Now that was a surprise.

So while everyone else stood in shock upon recent events, she pondered how the hell the idiots surrounding her knew about her arrival. She only told Alex, and it was only because she needed a ride...-

_ Alex._

Her mind settled and her eyes glared. Her hair whipped across her face as she turned to Alex to share a few words, only to find he was already half way up the stairs.

_ You better fucking run, _she thought.

Heals clicked mercily against the wooden floor of her house, her sences were flooded with a scent she knew all to well as she came closer to Adelaide. She turned back and looked at her replica in heals with gleaming colbat eyes.

They were three fourths identical and one fourth themselves. Their eyes battled; cerulean skies against emerald leaves.

"Adelaide."

She whispered her name softly yet desperately. She smiled with her lips but she communicated with her eyes, and they were longing.

Warmth immediately enveloped her like a blanket as Lydia colided with her small body. Her arms were squeezing, fingertips pressing deep into her skin as Adelaide clung onto her with equal ferocity. There was a feeling in Adelaide's chest, it blossomed and consumed her whole; the feeling of _home_.

"I missed you so much."

They let go of one another and it was then that Lydia noticed how quiet everyone was, and why. The moment her eyes landed on her wounded boyfriend her eyes widened to the point where Adelaide thought they'd pop out. "Jackson!"

In an instant she was kneeling next to him, inspecting his face with gentle hands. "What the hell happened?" she turned to stare at everyone around her with confusion and hostility, only stopping at Adelaide when her lips quirked up into the smirk she missed dearly.

"Oops."

"What..-Adelaide!"

Amusment shined brightly in her eyes, betraying every ounce of anger she let into her voice.

"He just popped out of no where, what'd you expect?" she turned to look at Jackson with a look that was anything but apologetic. "Sorry 'bout that, dude."

* * *

People were walking around her house with cliched red solo cups in their hands as they socialized and danced with fake smiles and dazed eyes. There were whisperings and stares, both of which she blew off with a roll of her eyes and a quirk of her lips.

_WELCOME HOME, ADELAIDE! _

The sign was big and glittery, red polkadots surrounded the black lettering in a Minnie Mouse-esque way.

It was no secret that Adelaide didn't know 70% of the people in their school, let alone all the dancing drunks in her house, and the 30% she did know weren't very high up on her good list.

"So...is anyone going to tell me why my home has been infiltrated by hormonal idiots?"

"It's a party...for you." her sister gave her the biggest smile she could muster; it didn't work.

An immaculate eyebrow raised on its own accord as she surveyed the house. The party was for her, but it wasn't _for her._ It was a front, a facade, and she didn't mind one bit because she was going to end up ignoring it all anyway.

"Right...-just so you know, I'm not going to go out there, socialize, and pretend to like these people. Farewell my lovely sister, I'm not helping you clean."

With a fake smile, she grabbed her suitcases and trudged up the stairs. The exhaustion of being stuck in a plane for such a long time came crashing down on her. Suddenly the thought of laying on her soft, comfortable bed sounded like the most wonderful thing in the world.

Only when she opened her door, it wasn't empty like she hoped it would be. If it was any other person, she would've minded, but it was only Alex.

He was laying face down on her queen sized bed, the black duvet surrounding him.

She ran to the bed and jumped on his back. He groaned as he crushed him with his weight.

_ Good, _she thought when she heard his pained groan.

"You're a dick." she mumbled into his back as he tried to wiggle her off. After a few more tries he just gave up.

"Get off of meeeee" he whined into the pillow.

"Why'd you have to tell Lydia? You knew she'd pull something like this, Alex. You fucking suck, you know how annoying those people are, why would you subject me to that kind of idiocy?" she whined as she nuzzled further into his back. Despite his muscular build, he was very...soft "Why are you so comfortable?" she sighed in content.

"I didn't tell her, she found out. I didn't even know she was doing this until we got here." he shifted until he was on his back and Adelaide still laid on top of him. He wouldn't admit it, but he was pretty damn comfortable himself.

"I really did miss you Addy." he said quietly.

"I missed you to, Alex."

The sound of music and yelling teenagers soon turned into nothing but silence as they fell into a deep slumber in one another's arms.

* * *

When they woke up the next morning it was to the sound of someone calling their names.

"Addy, Alex? Guys, wake up." the person whispered gently. They either didn't know Adelaide hated being woken up, or they just didn't care. "I made breakfast."

That woke her up.

"What?" Adelaide's groggy voice sounded through the room. She tried to focus her eyes on one thing, but everything seemed to be blurring together. She decided on keeping one eye closed. The face above her was no longer a blur, but her mother. Her bright green eyes looked down at Adelaide and Alex with a mix of amusement and annoyance.

"Wake up."

Adelaide, but she would if needed. It was urgent.

"No." her short reply was met with a small flick to her forehead. "Stop"

A sigh forced its way out of her mother's mouth. "Get ready, Adelaide." she was met with complete silence. "Adelaide!" she yelled.

Her shrill yell not only woke Adelaide, but Alex too. He quickly sat up, looking around for the source of noise.

"Wha-what?" his eyes were unfocused and his hair was a mess. The sound of his husky voice made Adelaide turn to glare at him. There was just a little bit of dried drool on the side of his mouth.

"Yes, mother?" she snapped.

"Get ready." were her final words before she backed out of the room and into the hallway. Despite Adelaide not wanting to actually get up, she didn't want to deal with her mother's wrath.

Before she knew it she was out of the shower and Alex was looking looking for any clothes he might have left in her drawers.

"I practically _live _here! How can I not have any of my clothes in here?" he groaned in annoyance after he looked around for nearly 10 minutes.

"You could always just wear some of my clothes." a smirk came across Adelaide's face as she thought about it, "It wouldn't be the first time" she laughed loudly when he turned to glare at her.

"That was only _one time, _and it will _never _happen again." her booming laughter was on going until he finally found some clothes he could wear to meet with Ms. Martin. "You might want to change into some _actual _clothes, Ads" he said after he took in her towel clad body. Her curly hair was slowly drying and she was looking at one of her suitcases.

"Come on, you know you love looking at my hot body." she winked at him playfully when she passed by him. She opened her suitcase and looked for some clothes to wear. She'd left some in her closet, but those most likely no longer fit her. She'd grown over the summer too; she developed curves.

"Sorry, love, you're not my type." he played along with mock awe.

When she finally got some clothes on, she quickly put them on and pulled her hair out of her shirt.

With curly hair like hers, it was best if it dried naturally.

"Right, I forgot. You're strictly dickly."

Adelaide and her mother had many things in common, one thing being their impatience. She must have been getting annoyed with Adelaide for taking so long, and she didn't need her mother to be angry at her for one more thing. She came to a sudden stop in front of her door. Her mother didn't seem angry when she'd woken her and Alex up; she was completely calm, gentle even.

"Alex, did you tell my mother about me coming back from New York?" her confusion only grew when he shook his head. Another thing Adelaide and her mother shared was their horrible tempers. They were quick to anger and held grudges for long periods of time. It was one of the many reasons they didn't get along.

Instead of dwelling on the subject any longer, they went down the stairs.

What waited for them in the kitchen was just as surprising as it was confusing.

There, Adelaide's mother stood along with Lydia with large smiles and a large box with something that seemed to be moving. There were wholes on the lid to the box, and it had a large bow on top.

Her short stature and confident posture seemed to dominate the room. She always had a powerful presence, she assumed that was where she and Lydia got it from. Her bright green eyes shone with determination, and her short strawberry blonde hair seemed to shimmer in their brightly lit kitchen.

Adelaide looked around the kitchen. Somehow, whenever Lydia threw a party she managed to have it all cleaned up by the morning.

"What's going on?" Adelaide continued to walk into the kitchen with weary footsteps and suspicious eyes.

"If you're expecting me to be angry with you, Adelaide, don't. I'm completely okay with you coming back without telling me." she lied through her teeth and Adelaide knew it. She may not have been angry, but she, just like Adelaide, hated surprises.

"So you're not angry? At all?" Adelaide asked in blatant disbelief.

Her mother sighed and shifted the box on top of her hip. "No, I'm not angry sweetie, I'm just surprised. I didn't know you were coming back until Lydia told me. Which was two days ago. I've had time to take it in." any signs of anger or irritation disappeared.

Lydia, who seemed to be overly excited, tapped her mother's shoulder and gave her a look that Adelaide could only decipher as encouragement.

"Look...-I just-I wanted to give this to you as a Welcome Home present. I know that when you left we weren't on great terms, so consider this my apology." she gave Adelaide that warm smile she missed while in New York, and she returned it with her own uncomfortable one.

"It's fine, mom. It was just a small disagreement. No need to get your panties in a twist." she gave a small laugh as she shifted from one foot to the other. It wasn't just a small disagreement, it was the reason she was in New York, but she wouldn't make her mother feel worse by reminding her.

"I missed you so much." Tears sprang to her mother's eyes as she put the box on the island counter and engulfed Adelaide in her arms. "I'm so sorry, hon"

Adelaide was frozen in her mother's arms, it wasn't until her mother whispered those last words that she awkwardly pat her back. Even though they'd left on really bad terms, she'd still missed her. "I missed you too, mom" she whispered.

Someone cleared their throat, and they stepped away from one another. While Adelaide's mother was wiping her tears away, Adelaide stood their awkwardly with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Oh!" her mother exclaimed before she grabbed the box with wholes on the lid and shoved it into her arms, "I hope you like it." she finished with a smile.

Adelaide looked down at the box with confusion. "Is something going to pop out and eat me or something? Because I don't think I'm into that..."

Both Alex and Lydia fixed her with a glare, "Just open it!" they said in unison. Is that what she and Lydia sounded whenever they spoke at the same time? It was creepy.

She opened the lid of the box as slowly and dramatically as she could, but what she saw definitely wasn't what she expected. She expected it to be a chihuahua, or maybe even a bunny...but it wasn't.

It was the one thing she'd always wanted, the same exact one she'd always begged for when she younger. A large smile took over her whole face, lighting up her already bright eyes. She reached into the box and held the small, all white Siberian Husky in her arms.

"Why would you guys put a dog in a box?"

* * *

**Kind of a filler, sorry guysss, i hope you like it, though c;**

**xoxo Brii(:**


	3. Glory and Gore

**Thank you guys so much for the follows, favorites, and the reviews! You guys are so sweet and amazing, and I really am thankful that you guys took time out of your day to leave review. They made me so happy, and excited that I started writing right after :D**

**I really hope you guys like this chapter, I'm really excited for your feedback, I worked really hard on making it as good as it can be (:**

**Enjoy c:**

**Chapter 3**

**Mallrats by The Orwells**

**Oh, Death by Jen Titus**

The day after she got her new dog was also the day Lydia told her the horrible news. Her strawberry blonde waves flipping over her shoulder dramatically and her smile brighter than the sun, she told Adelaide they were going shopping and there was no way out.

Adelaide's need for new school supplies outweighed her desire for a quiet, peaceful last day of freedom.

She turned into Alex's curved driveway and stepped out of her sister's dark blew volkswagen beetle and walked towards the beautiful house as she thought about how her day would turn out. Adelaide loved shopping as much as the next girl, she did. She loved walking around the shopping center, smelling the different perfumes from different stores and feeling the different fabrics as she tried on new clothes. It was great, she just wasn't in the mood for it.

When she was in front of the door she quickly squat down and took the key from under the matt knowing that no one would mind if she just walked in. She was practically a part of the family.

"Honey, I'm home!"

Soon the sound of tiny footsteps echoed through the house and a little boy appeared in front of her. His blue eyes lightened up as soon as he caught sight of her and she could feel the tiny crash as he ran up to her and hugged her legs to him tightly, as if she would soon disappear if he ever let go.

"Addy!" his small voice yelled out as he tried to clime up her legs. Her smile was wide and her eyes were bright as she looked at the 5 year old with chubby cheeks and a beautiful smile. He looked at her with admiration and awe.

"Hey little guy, did you miss me?"

At the nickname his large smile turned into a cute scowl that reminded her so much of Alex she almost burst out into laughter.

"I'm not little anymore Addy, I'm-" he paused as his eyebrows creased in thought, overall he looked absolutely adorable. He was counting on his chubby little fingers, and when he finally finished he held up his hand, making sure he had all 5 fingers up. "-this many!"

"Wow! You're all grown up now, you know what this means, don't you?" she whispered dramatically as she lowered her head. His big, innocent eyes widened as he brought his own face closer.

"What?" he whispered excitedly. His sandy blonde hair, identical to Alex's, brushed against her forehead as they talked to each other as if they were exchanging secrets.

"It means you can finally eat from the cookie jar" his bright blue eyes and the smile one his face widened simultaneously, and she felt a small ounce of warmth flutter in her cold heart as she looked down at the little boy she treated as her own little brother.

"Really?" he clapped his hands excitedly. The cookie jar was a jar of chocolate chip cookies she had in her kitchen, and whenever he'd go over she would tell him he couldn't eat from the cookie jar until he was all grown up. Of course, she needed to restock, but she was completely fine with it. "You're my favorite person in the whole wide world!"

"Hey, what about me?" a deep voice sounded from the top of the stairs. Alex stood there with his sandy hair in its usual mess and his blue eyes twinkling. Jake was the mini Alex.

"Please, you could never be as awesome as I am. Isn't that right Jakey?" she looked down at the blue eyed boy; his own eyes twinkled in mischief.

"Yeah, Addy is waaay better than you. She's even letting me take cookies out of the cookie jar." he looked at his older brother with a triumphant grin; even Alex wasn't allowed to take cookies out of Adelaide's cookie jar.

Alex looked at them with mock shock and betrayal, but Adelaide could see the amusement in his blue eyes. He hurried down the stairs and took Jake from her arms.

Adelaide couldn't help but laugh at the image before her. Jake was withering beneath his older brothers' larger form, squeals of laughter coming out of him as Alex tickled him into submission.

"Okay, okay! You're the best! You're awesomer!" his shrill voice screamed out. Alex's tickle attack stopped short as he looked at Adelaide with the same triumphant grin his younger brother had just seconds before.

Yep, Jake was definitely a mini Alex.

"That's what I thought"

* * *

After Alex had to basically drag Adelaide away from her 'baby', as she claimed Jake to be, they had gotten in Lydia's small beetle and headed towards the mall. They were pretty hard to separate.

"So, why am I going again?" he asked as they listened to one of Alex's favorite bands; Arctic Monkeys.

"Because, according to Lydia, your fashion sense is better than mine" she rolled her eyes as she thought back on her sister's words.

"I will not have my twin walking around school looking like some homeless teenager, besides, Alex's fashion sense is way better than yours." she looked at Adelaide with piercing green eyes. "He's coming."

"She's totally right, by the way." he glanced at her with a small smirk on his face.

"Please, you love my clothes, and you know it. I mean, you've even wore them before." she retaliated with a fake, sweet smile on her face.

They'd tried to find parking in the parking lot in front of one of Alex's favorite stores, but it was completely packed, and Adelaide didn't have enough patience to wait for someone to leave. So instead of she chose to park on the opposite side, where it was less occupied. She'd already dropped Lydia off, so she was most likely waiting in Macy's.

"Come on, let's get this shit over with." she slid her ray bans over her eyes when they got out of the car. The sun was particularly strong that day, yet they were supposed to have a storm coming their way. California was obviously bipolar.

Her short, black denim shorts, thing white t-shirt and black converse high tops weren't enough to keep her cool. She thought if she wore less, the wind would be enough to keep her cool; she was wrong. The wind was hot, sticky, and just plain disgusting.

It would definitely ruin her hair.

They walked into the store nearest to where they had parked; Target, just what she needed.

"I need to get some notebooks and stuff, are you coming with, or do you need to get your own things?" she asked.

"I'll just go with you."

After getting her school supplies and a couple of face masks, and face wash, she paid for everything with her debit card and they went to find Lydia.

By the time they'd gotten to her Alex had a few shopping bags in his hands, and Adelaide had a lot of new perfumes, lotions, and undergarments she'd picked up from Victoria's Secret. It was packed, but worth it.

Lydia, as always, was dressed to perfection. A cute navy blue summer dress with white polkadots and spaghetti straps paired with sheer, black tights and her favorite brown suede booties with high heals. It was cute, but they were just shopping.

Her sister glanced down at her high tops disapprovingly, but Adelaide could care less. She was not going to wear heals to the mall.

Adelaide found herself standing in front of one of her favorite stores; Spencers. She didn't much like their clothing, but everything else they had was pretty cool. The posters, the decorations, the lingerie was pretty cute too, but most of all, what they had all the way in the back. It was absolutely hilarious, to her anyway, that they carried books that gave advice on sex. They had other stuff in there too, like edible underwear and _toys. _

Alex, of course, loved the store. Lydia, on the other hand, hated it. They never played music to her liking, and they didn't have clothes that she liked.

"Come on, Lydia, stop being such a little brat!" her sister was being difficult, she didn't want to go into Spencers, she wanted to go into Aldo. "You know what? I don't care. I'm going into Spencers, and if you don't want to come in with me, I don't care." she started to the store, counting the seconds for Lydia to fall into her trap; it took 3.

She felt her hand clamp down on her wrist and smirked when she agreed to go in with her.

The first thing she noticed was the song playing through out the store. It was one of her favorites by Pixies.

She found herself singing along to the music as she and Alex looked at the posters.

"Ohhh, he's hot." Alex exclaimed suddenly. Both Adelaide and Lydia perked up at the words. Lydia may have been with Jackson, but she was aloud to appreciate, and Adelaide...well she was just curious. "I definitely wouldn't mind if he tickled my pickle." Alex added with a playful smirk on his face.

"That's disgusting, Alex." Adelaide still laughed.

Adelaide was hardly ever flustered just because a guy was extremely hot. It took a lot to impress her; she was picky, but even she had to admit she was more then impressed with this guy. His medium length black hair, sun kissed skin, bright blue eyes, and perfectly toned body? Definitely impressed. His tank top allowed them to see his beautiful and intricate tattoo running down his arm in tribal designs.

Suddenly, his eyes landed on them, he caught them staring, and while Lydia and Alex quickly turned away, Adelaide stayed. Instead of glaring at them, or saying something idiotic, he smirked. His pouty lips pulling to the side, exposing his dimples and she could have sworn his eyes got bluer.

She smirked back, biting her lip as he turned away and left.

_Damn. _

Adelaide felt a small thump on the back of her head and turned to glare at the person who did it; Alex.

"What the hell was that?" he asked with raised eyebrows. She retaliated by thumping him on the head, and that was how they went for 2 minutes. Constantly hitting one another on the head, until Lydia stopped them.

"If you guys don't stop right now, I will make you listen to Justin Bieber the whole way home." her sweet smile contradicted her words greatly, and they found themselves stopping. "So...what was that?" Lydia asked.

"What was what?" Adelaide replied with boredom lacing her tone. She walked up to a particular poster that caught her eye. It was a little kid with sun glasses on, giving the world the one finger salute. She grinned and took the poster; she was definitely buying it.

"You know what, Ads, don't play dumb. It's not cute." she replied. Her eyes traveled to the poster in her twin's hand and her haughty expression was replaced by one of amusement.

"Nope, that's all you, Lyd." Adelaide commented. Since she and Jackson started dating, Lydia seemed to dumb herself down in his presence; like she was trying to make him think he was smarter than her, which he wasn't. Like at all.

She received a glare in return along with a thump to her head by her lovely sister.

"Um, ow!"

* * *

They'd finally left the mall after 5 hours of shopping. Adelaide ended up getting a whole new wardrobe and a mani-padi. It was 6 o'clock when Lydia and Adelaide finally got home, they'd dropped Alex off at home.

The sun was slowly setting, and the once blistering heat turned into a fresh, cool breeze.

"Did you have fun?" Lydia asked with a grin on her face as they took their things out of her small car.

Adelaide nodded with a small smile on her face. "Yeah, I haven't been shopping like that in ages"

Lydia looked at her sister with glimmering eyes. "You know I love you, right?" she knew her sister better than anyone, even Alex, and she knew from the moment she saw her that something was different about her. Something not good. "And I'm always here for you, Addy, no matter what."

Adelaide looked at her with surprise, "Of course I know-" she looked down at her sister with furrowed brows, "What brought this on?"

"It's just...-I know something's wrong. I can feel it, something's different about you, and I wanted you to know that if you ever needed to talk...well-I'm here." with that, she brought Adelaide to her in a tight hug.

Adelaide froze for a moment before she returned the hug with a bit of hesitance, until she relaxed and clung onto her with the same amount of enthusiasm.

"So am I." she finished.

There they stood, two sisters clinging onto one another simply because they loved one another.

After their little hugging session, the twins took their things up to their rooms and organized everything for the next day at school.

"Hey, buddy" Adelaide said once she entered her room. Her new pure white Siberian husky was in front of her, wagging his tail and looking up at her with his big blue eyes that she absolutely loved.

It was already about 8 o'clock pm, but she was feeling a bit restless. A bit after she'd finished putting everything away, she started to fidget. She was pacing the length of her large room, until she finally had enough. She decided to go out for a run through the Beacon Hill preserve.

She felt a small pressure build on her left temple, but she ignored it. She quickly put on her sports bra, a white tank top, and her black yoga pants. She was ready to go.

She hurried down the stairs, her unnamed dog following after her.

"Adelaide? Is that you?" she heard her mother call from the kitchen. How she heard her from such a long distance was beyond her.

"Yeah, what's up?" she asked as she entered the brightly lit kitchen. There her mother stood with a fancy business suit and conflicted expression. She laughed uncomfortably as her mother stared at her intensely. "Seriously, what's going on?"

"I know you just got here, but-" she bit her lip as Adelaide looked at her with expectant eyes. "They called me into Milan, they need me there as soon as possible. I'm leaving. I'm going to be gone for about 3 weeks, maybe more, but-"

Adelaide cut her off with hardened eyes, and fake smile. "That's great, have fun." that was when she noticed the luggage at her mother's side. She'd already packed.

"Adelaide, I-"

Once again, Adelaide didn't let her finish her sentence. She didn't need an excuse, she didn't want one. "Seriously, it's fine. I didn't expect anything else from you, Mother."

"I-"

"Well...-I gotta go. I was gonna go out for a run. Just call when you leave or something." she jogged back to the front door; her mother completely out of sight. With a small shake of her head and a sigh of indignation, she left through the front door and started to jog into the Preserve of Beacon Hills.

* * *

Music consumed her being as her feet moved with the beat that sounded through her ears.

Her feet pounded on the dead leaves and wet soil. 30 minutes had passed since she started; her calves were beginning to burn, and her breathing was much faster. Years of sports, and staying active gave her stamina, but she hadn't ran like this in months.

Each step drove her deeper into the woods, deeper into the darkness, but she couldn't find it in herself to mind. She knew those woods like the back of her hand.

Her mother's departure was something she was used to, ever since her father left, but it didn't make the disappointment go away every time she heard the words.

_I'm leaving._

The cold air nipped at her bare shoulders and calves, but she didn't mind, the cold air was welcomed. Her high ponytail was swinging with each movement she made, and the music sounding through her ear buds seemed to get louder and louder, until she was completely consumed in it. Her thoughts drifted, and her body lost some of its stiff posture.

She didn't notice which direction she was headed until she found herself in front of the lake. It was the only place where she could be alone. The only place where she wouldn't be bothered. It was beautiful; it was in the middle of a clearing with beautiful flowers growing out of the grass. The moon hung high in the sky.

The Dead Weather's _60 Feet Tall_ was playing as she craned her neck to get rid of some more tension. She started to stretch her legs a bit, and took out her earphones to prevent them from falling into the wet soil. She let out a breath through her parted lips to try and calm her rapid heartbeat. The work out had been good, she hadn't done it in a while.

A sharp pain in her temple made her hiss and grab her head.

Suddenly she heard the sound of rustling leaves coming from behind her, and she snapped her head to the side. Once again, she heard the tell tale sign that someone, or something, was there. A twig snapped, and her indifference soon turned to suspicion. The darkness made it harder to see much, but the moon helped her navigate through the small clearing.

She tried to ignore the sounds that came from, presumably, the small animals that were usually in the Beacon Hill Preserve by putting on her earbuds and turning the volume up full blast and starting to run once again, forgetting about the pain.

Her run was going well, until her foot got caught in something wet, and squishy. Her body tumbled down onto the same exact substance, only she knew what it was. The smell was horribly familiar, and was now all over her body.

_Blood._

The pain in her head came back with a vengeance, spreading throughout her brain and raining down on her body like a storm.

She closed her eyes for one second and opened them.

A gasp tore its way out of her throat and a lump formed soon after. There was blood everywhere. She was laying in it, her hands squeezing the wet soil.

The bottom half of a woman's body lay there showered with blood and guts.

A loud, shrill scream echoed throughout the Beacon Hills Preserve.

* * *

**So, did you like it? I'd really like it if you guys gave me some feedback on this...I'm actually really nervous for the reaction haha. Thank you so much for reading, and it would mean so much to me if you gave me some feedback. You can leave a review or PM me if you have any questions (:**

**Also, outfits are up on my profile if you're interested! (:**

**xoxo Brii(:**


	4. The Walking Corpse

**I'm so sorry, but I had to edit this chapter D: I don't know why, I thought it was sort of bad and I wasn't very satisfied with it...sorry.**

**Thank you so much to those who reviewed and followed, and you're just amazing ;D And Guest reviewers, I'm so sorry that I couldn't respond to your review, I really wish I could, you were all so sweet (: The next chapter will be a lot easier to write, and hopefully I'll get it in soon. With Spring Break coming up, I'll have a lot more time to write, and will maybe update 2 chapters :D Thanks again! **

**Also, outfits are on my profile if you're interested! (:**

**Chapter 4**

**Teardrop by Massive Attack**

Nothing could compare to the amount of relief the flowed through her body when she found her phone in the mass amounts of dead leaves.

After the shock of finding half of a dead body flowed out of her mind, self-preservation set in. She needed to get out of there. Call the cops, and get the _fuck_ out.

The blood looked fresh, it was still flowing and it was still wet. The killer was still out there. She could feel it, like a 6th sense. A prickling sensation at the back of her mind, prodding and throbbing; warning her to leave.

With shaky hands she dialed 9-1-1 and pressed the phone to her ear.

"911, what's your emergency?" a voice spoke calmly into the phone.

Why was she so calm? There was no reason to be calm. There was a disgusting, half body at her feet.

"I-I'm in Beacon Hills Preserve...-I found a body. Ther-there's a lot of blood…-I think it's fresh" she exclaimed shakily. Her usual strong, firm voice was scratchy, shrill, and even a little hysterical.

"Sweetie, I need you to calm down, okay? Tell me where you are." she was still calm, but there was something else in her voice; urgency.

"I'm near the lake, the-the one by the cliff." the blood on her hands were making the hold she had on her phone slip slightly, and she found they were still shaking.

"Okay, _stay there. _I need you to stay there, do you think you can do that?" she asked in a gentle voice.

"You do realize how stupid you sound, right?" Her voice turned hysterical. "Whatever killed this...person, could still be here, if you think I'm going to risk _my_ life and wait for the police to get here like some horror movie bimbo, you're seriously out of your _fucking mind_." her hands were still shaking, her knees were wobbly, and her voice was thick with fear and anger.

She suddenly didn't care if she was speaking to an officer. The blood on her hands, the body, the police, the paranoia that surfaced in her mind was becoming all too familiar.

"I know you're afraid, but you have to understand, if you leave you could be in even more danger. Just stay where you are the Sheriff and state police are on their way, they'll be there in a few seconds. Stay where you are." then she hung up. Just like that, as if she hadn't left a teenager with a body - half of a body - that was mangled, bloody, and _recently_ torn apart.

Adelaide looked down at her phone with trembling lips and fearful cerulean eyes.

The black screen stared back at her boldly; blood was smeared on the screen, giving the impression it was on her face.

Her fear was staring right back at her, tainted and dark. Fear that maybe, just maybe, the killer was still out there, and may just kill her too. The protectors of Beacon Hills, her _"protectors" _were driving around aimlessly looking for her as she stood over the mangled body of a poor girl that was killed by something savage and beastly.

She gripped at her hair with one hand and held her phone in the other as she breathed in and out in hoped that it would calm her.

It didn't.

"No...no, no, no!" she nearly sobbed. She tried to unlock her phone, but her fingers were slippery with blood. Her hands were clumsy and trembling. Every movement was spastic.

So she tried again, and again, and again.

She screamed in frustration.

The frustration was climbing up her throat and squeezing harshly as she tried and failed to do something as simple as unlocking her phone, but her hands were shaking and so was her heart. Her heartbeat was ringing in her ears, pulsating throughout her body as her mind drowned itself in paranoia.

She was finally able to open her phone.

3 Messages

3 Missed Calls

_Mom: I tried to call you, but you wouldn't answer. I left. Please be responsible, don't do anything stupid. -Mom 8:30_

_Asshole Bestfriend: R u as nervous as I am for tomorrow? I'm totally nervous. Like rlly nervous...what if no body likes me...well, at least Im out of that stupid private school that was stupid and...stupid. 8:53_

_Lydia: I went to Jackson's house, there's some fettuccine in the fridge, mom left, and I fed your dog. You're Welcome btw. Love you, Lydia. 9:00_

Her initial plan was to call someone, anyone to come and get her out of the Preserve, but she couldn't seem to press the damn button.

She licked her chapped lips and clenched the phone in her hand. She stepped away and started pacing.

She needed to figure something out; maybe she could leave, just run back home. No, she couldn't, it was too dangerous. Maybe if it was a person, a regular human being that had killed this girl, she would be able to defend herself, but it didn't look like a normal human kill.

Her hair found its way out of her high pony tail and she ran her hands though them, only to remember that they were covered in blood and entrails. She closed her eyes tightly as her stomach churned violently.

God, why the hell was she still there? She should have been running through the trees and into the path she knew would lead her home, but something was keeping her, and the warning that was prodding at the back of her mind was suddenly gone and replaced with the need to stay.

She needed a distraction.

_Music. Yeah, music'll help, _she thought. She took out her phone and plugged in her earphones once again. She ignored the blood smeared on her phone, and tried to distract herself with Mirah's soothing voice.

She turned her back on the gruesome scene to avoid staring at the trail of intestines surrounding the body. The music helped dull her hearing, and the body was no longer in plain view, but all her other senses were perfectly intact. She could smell the revolting, dead body and the coppery blood, she could feel the wet, bloody soil even with her shoes, and the maggots that were squirming around it. Her stomach churned violently once again.

She stepped further away from the body, probably a big mistake but she didn't care because her eyes suddenly locked on a shinning object in the dark night shinning. It was the necklace she saw before she'd seen the body. More of a pendant, really. A small crease between her eyebrows formed as she walked forward. The closer she got the more apparent it became that it was very beautiful, even with the bit of dark blood that was smeared on it. A silver chain with a stone that had a symbol she couldn't quite make out was carved into it. She reached out for it with her trembling, bloodied hand, but she hesitated when her fingers were about to curl around the pendant. Three spirals, all connecting at one point entranced her. The intricate swirls were so familiar to her, but she couldn't place why.

Should she really take that belonged to a recently killed woman, just to satisfy her own curiosity? It was wrong, on so many levels. So, so wrong…but…who would miss it?

She took the pendant and stored it in her sports bra.

Music was playing softly out of her earbuds, but she was still able to hear the sound she'd been waiting for since she called the police. Sirens.

She let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes.

Finally, they were there. She could finally get the hell away from the body that was only 2 ft away, she could finally escape the familiar smell of blood and rotting flesh.

_Stay calm._

Taking out the earbuds from her ears, she smoothed down her, now bloodied, tank top with shaky hands. She was covered, from head to toe, with blood and guts, but she forced the thought out of her mind and waited for the sheriff to get there with her head held high.

The sirens stopped at a place near her, and she heard thundering footsteps heading towards her.

"Excuse me!" she called out to get their attention. They seemed to have heard her. Their footsteps were closer, louder, and in no time about 10 deputies stood in front of her. Although most were surveying the scene, there was one man that looked over at her with concern.

From the badge on his jacket, she could see that he was the Sheriff of Beacon Hills.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" he walked to her with weary steps, like he was approaching a wild animal.

"Adelaide" she answered shortly before adding "Can I go home now?" she heard her own voice waver slightly and she cursed herself for it. "I have school tomorrow-"

"I know you want to go home, hell I do too, but you need to stay with us. If you go now, you could be attacked just as viciously as this poor girl was." his eyes were filled with concern for her safety, and she would have been touched by it had she not been waiting there for about 20 minutes. She really didn't want to walk around the Preserve to find the other half of the body.

"Bu-" she was, once again, cut off. Her mouth clamped shut, and her jaw clenched. Why did he have to keep _interrupting _her?

"No buts, if you go back home, alone, there would be no way to protect yourself against whatever did this. We have guns, we can protect you." he smiled warmly, but she glowered with an angry pout on her face.

"Fine." she continued strongly, "On one condition." he looked down at her with questioning eyes, and slowly nodded. "You wont call my mother."

His expression went from confused to surprised in a matter of seconds, "I'm sorry, but I can't do that."

She figured he'd say something like that, so she came up with something else. "I'm assuming you need her permission to question me?" When he nodded, she continued. "She wont let you within a 5 foot radius of me if it meant that I would have to be involved in any kind of legal investigation. She's very stubborn, and very persuasive. So, if you want to question me, and avoid any kind of trouble, then you probably _shouldn't _call my mother."

His hesitance was clear by the way his brows furrowed and a small grimace formed on his face, but eventually he agreed. "Deal."

So she walked around aside the police force for about 20 minutes. Her eyes were look straight ahead of her, yet the crease between her brows showed she was in deep thought. It definitely wasn't the first corpse she'd seen, but it was still disturbing.

She could feel the remnants of fear still in her body, her hands were still shaking, her heart was still beating 100 miles a minute and there was nothing she could do but walk aside the Sheriff and his deputies.

Flashes of wild adventures, guns, blood, and heartache flashed in her mind. She grimaced and ground her teeth together.

"You alright there?" she heard the Sheriff ask. Her gray eyes snapped open to meet his blue ones and she found the same look of concern he had when he first spoke to her. It was then that she realized how familiar he looked. She didn't usually socialize herself with authority figures, but she was sure that she'd met him before.

"I'm fine." she replied. She brushed a strand of her strawberry blonde hair. The tips of it were caked with blood and all she could think was she couldn't wait to wash it. "Are we almost done?" Was it horrible of her? To not care about the girl? She cared, and she pitied her, but she was dead, and now that she was away from the body all she could do was think about showering. Where was her compassion? Did she have any left?

"If we don't make anymore progress in the next hour, I'll take you home and come back. We already have forensics back at the crime scene." he replied, stepping over a fallen branch. "You said your name was Adelaide?" he added, probably to distract her.

She didn't mind him trying to keep the conversation going, she needed something else to focus on, something other than her uneven heartbeat, shaky hands, and wandering mind.

"Yup, Adelaide Martin" she answered. She felt sticky, and dirty. Her hair was matted with dirt, her upper body was covered in blood and her yoga pants had dead maggots scattered around along with dirt. She felt disgusting.

"Martin?" he paused with raised eyebrows, "As in Caroline Martin?"

Her head snapped to look at the older man with surprise written across her features. Suspicion forced its way into her mind, "You know my mother?" they suddenly came to a stop when the dogs caught a scent.

"Well, we went to to high school together. You're right, she's pretty stubborn" he answered with a small grin before opening his mouth to continue. The dogs started to bark wildly, pushing him to take out his gun and cut himself off, pushing Adelaide behind him.

She flinched when the gun came out, the flashbacks coming back in an instant. She couldn't see anything, but apparently, the Sheriff could. He shook his head and closed his eyes, and she recognized the look on his face as one that her teachers' often wore around her.

"Great." he whispered. He put the gun down and she sighed in relief.

"What?" her question went unanswered. Instead he went forward and grabbed the collar of a guy that looked to be about her age. He let out a loud yelp, and all flashlights turned to him.

"Hang on, hang on!" the Sheriff yelled out, "This little delinquent belongs to me." he muttered angrily. Adelaide stood back, watching the scene unfold before her with curiosity. His lanky stature, short hair, and pale skin was all she could really make out in the darkness.

"H-hey dad, how's it goin'?" he was to caught up in getting caught to notice Adelaide standing behind his father.

"Do you listen in on all my phone calls?" he asked roughly as he glowered at his son. The lanky boy shrank back from his father's angry gaze.

He scoffed, "Wh-No." the Sheriff gave him a pointed look, "Not the boring ones." he added as he put his arms on his hips.

Adelaide let out a small scoff that they remained oblivious to; he was funny. She still stood there, waiting for one of them to finally realize that she was waiting there, hoping to go home soon.

"So, where's your usual partner in crime?"

"Who? Scott?" he laughed, as if the thought itself was absolutely absurd. "He's at home...-said he wanted to catch up on his sleep. It's just me. Out in the woods. Alone."

"Scott!?" the Sheriff called out as he grabbed his son from the collar of his shirt, completely ignoring his son's denial. "You out there?!"

He received no response.

"Told you" his son said with a smug smile. He either didn't notice that his father was holding him by the collar to keep him in place, or he didn't care.

When the Sheriff started to drag him away, he seemed to be caught by surprise. His arms flew out in surprise and his mouth hung open in protest.

"_We- _are going to have a little talk about invasion of privacy." the Sheriff exclaimed as he pushed his son further ahead of him.

Adelaide's eyes widened as she saw him walk further and further away from her. Did he seriously just forget about her?

"Hellooo!" she called out, and immediately regretted it after. They both turned to her, the Sheriff looked apologetic, but his son...he looked like he was about to be sick.

His eyes were wide, and his movements were completely halted, only a small twitch of his fingers indicated that he wasn't completely frozen. At first, she didn't know why he looked so...appalled at her sudden appearance, but then she understood. She looked like a walking corpse. A shimmer of uncertainty showed in her eyes until it was quickly replaced with a mask of annoyance.

"What? Never seen a girl covered in blood before?" Her bloodied hands maneuvered themselves onto her hips and his wide eyes followed the movement. She bit her lip harshly and looked at him with hard eyes, "Okay, seriously, your staring is starting to get really creepy, really fast, and I _highly _suggest you stop"

"Oh my-" he snapped out of it and his hand immediately went to cover his mouth. A gagging sound came out of his mouth and he closed his eyes tightly. "Is tha-is that blood?" He let one eye open and immediately closed it after, "Yep. That-that's blood. Oh god, I'm gonna be sick"

"Don't be such a pansy, it's just a little blood." she rolled her bright eyes. He wasn't the one that found half a body.

"A-a little?" his wide eyes looked at her in disbelief, "You're literally _covered _in blood. Completely. Like, all over." he waved his hand frantically over the length of her petite body, "That's-that's just unsanitary."

"Stiles" the Sheriff scolded, but his warning went ignored.

Her eyes narrowed into slits, and she took a challenging step toward him.

His eyes snapped open and he stumbled back with each step she took. "Wha-what are you doing?!"

She walked closer, and closer, until he was backed up against a tree and she was only a few inches away from him. "C'mon, it's just a little bit of blood." she whispered and leaned closer. "Scared of a little blood?"

"N-no...I just - I don't want the-the smell of blood to transfer onto my-my clothes." he rushed out as he leaned further back into the tree.

She reached out and pat his nose. She chuckled a bit at his immediate reaction.

He sidestepped the tree and scurried away from her with a high pitched yelp, falling on his ass in the process. "Holy sh-"

"Stiles" the Sheriff exclaimed with a sigh; Stiles had landed right at his feet.

"D-dad, hey." he gave a small, awkward smile, which looked more like a grimace, and clumsily got on his feet.

Adelaide was chuckling quietly next to them, Stiles was glaring at her, and the Sheriff looked pretty damn frustrated.

"Adelaide, sweetheart, _Stiles-" _he clapped a large hand on his sons' shoulder, "-here is going to give you a ride home, okay?" he talked to her in such a gentle manner, so warm, so caring, it was different.

"Thanks, Sheriff." she thanked him with a small smile.

"A-Adelaide? As in Martin? As in-as in Adelaide Martin?" Stiles stumbled over his words, his mouth open in surprise. Not for the first time that night, he stared at her.

"That's my name, don't wear it out." she muttered. She didn't like how he was looking at. It was one thing to be stared at with jealousy, admiration, or even hate at school, but it was another to have someone stare at you like they were trying to figure you out. It was unnerving.

"I-you-I mean...-you're Lydia Martin's twin sister." his voice was filled with awe, and some sort of...hope.

"In the flesh." she replied shortly. "Now, why don't you stop stuttering and fumbling, and take me home. I'm not exactly comfortable with all this blood and guts sticking to me." When she got home, she was going to take the longest shower ever, then she was going to have herself the best sleep ever, or not.

"Oh-ew. That's..." he pulled a face, "-that's disgusting."

"You're not the one that has it all over you." she sneered.

Just as he was about to reply, his father stepped in and separated them

"Alright, you two, enough. Adelaide needs to get home, Stiles, you're taking her. Adelaide, sweetheart, try to stay out of the woods at night, okay?" his hands rested on her and Stiles' shoulders, effectively stopping them from bantering any longer. They'd only known each other for 15 minutes, and already they didn't like one another. "I'll walk you both to Stiles' car."

Stiles halted, "You mean...-she has to sit in my car?" he whispered out, like it was some sort of crime against nature.

"Yes, Stiles, that's generally what happens when you give someone a ride." the Sheriff replied sarcastically. Adelaide almost laughed. Almost.

"Bu-she'll get blood all over my seats..." he seemed genuinely concerned about it, which only served to make Adelaide's eyes turn icy. Couldn't he find it in his awkward little heart to take her home, and away from that fucking half body?

"Are you kidding me? I just found a dead body, half actually, I walked around with the Sheriff for about 30 minutes, in a fucking _tank top, _that's wet with blood, by the way, and thin yoga pants while it's cold as shit. It's going to start raining any fucking minute now, and you're worried about your _seats_?" Her temper flared. Her cheeks red with anger and her eyes glaring daggers into his own. "If you don't want to take me home, that's fine. I'll walk home, but just remember...if I die, it's all on you. _Buddy._" She poked his chest roughly and he stumbled back into a tree.

He looked positively terrified to have been snapped at by the infamous Adelaide Martin, sister of Lydia Freaking Martin. Twins, actually. While she was relatively small, she was extremely intimidating.."I-" he started, but he was rendered speechless. "No." he muttered quietly, "Let's go, I'll take you home." he finished without stuttering. _  
_

She breathed out a small sigh of relief, "Thank you." Her lips curled into a tired smile as she turned to the Sheriff to thank him too, thank him for not being a total dick like all the other cops she'd dealt with, but he was already there, right in front of them. He was looking at them with a small, amused smile on his face. "Uh-thanks Sheriff."

He snapped out of whatever daze he was in and smiled warmly, "It's no problem, sweetheart." he rested a hand on her shoulder, "Stay out of the woods at night, okay?"

"Got it." she gave a feeble attempt at her signature smirk, but judging by the look of sympathy on his face, it didn't work.

Apparently, her exhaustion was shining through. All the fear, anger and adrenaline melted into a puddle and was replaced with pure exhaustion.

"Get her home, Stiles. We'll talk when you get home." he gave his son a stern nod, and all color drained from the already pale boys' face.

"Yeah...-uh-got it." he gave an awkward salute, and told Adelaide to follow him to his jeep.

Adelaide, of course, being the difficult person that she is, did the exact opposite. She tried to lead herself to his car, like she knew where it was.

"It's that way." Stiles exclaimed with a nod of his head towards the exact opposite direction. A smug smile lit his face as she turned and went that way. She, of course, led the way.

"I knew that." she grumbled.

* * *

After Stiles put some sort of barrier between Adelaide and his oh so precious seats, they got into his CJ-5 Jeep, which Adelaide actually liked, and he started driving in the general direction of her house.

His long fingers tapped against his steering wheel restlessly, and the car was completely quiet. No music, no conversation, nothing. Adelaide could _feel _the awkward rolling off of him in waves. Her own knee was bouncing at the urge to start some sort of conversation, something to distract herself.

Luckily, Stiles provided that distraction with flying colors. "So...you're the one that found the body..." he trailed off and sent a probing look her way. She rolled her eyes, but took the bait.

"Yeah, and you're the idiot that went looking for the other half." she heard him scoff loudly and turned to look at him with raised eyebrows. "What?"

"Your sister is way nicer." it was her turn to scoff. He didn't even know her, how the hell would he know if she was nice or not?

"And how would _you _know?" she leaned back further into the warm blanket he put on her seat and turned to look at him with knowing eyes.

"I-" he stopped for a moment, his mouth was still open, but by the crease between his brows, either he didn't know, or he totally stalked her and just didn't want to admit it. "I just do." he grumbled lowly. After that, he didn't try to make anymore conversation.

She groaned loudly. "Don't you have any music? I mean, if you're gonna stay quiet the whole, at least let there be music."

"You know, for someone that just found a dead body you don't seem all that...traumatized." he looked over to her with curiosity. She ignored him.

"We're almost there." he added.

She looked out of the windows and sure enough, they were just a block away from her house. Her eyebrows furrowed before they raised, "And how would you know _that_?"

His spine straightened almost immediately, and he started to fumble over his own words. "I-uh-I mean...I pass by here a lot, you know? To-uh-to get to school and stuff." he looked at her from the corner of his eyes, but looked back quickly after her gaze shifted back to him.

"Really?" her tone was amused, and he could hear the smirk on her face.

His fingers tapped faster on his steering wheel with each passing moment, his nerves getting the best of him, "Yep. That's the reason, yes."

"If you say so." she chuckled lowly as they stopped in front of her house, more like a mansion really. "See ya later, Twitch." she moved to get out of the car, but was stopped by Stiles himself. His hand flew to her wrist to stop her, making her tense. An electric shock marveled between their touching skin, making them jump back.

"I-sorry...it's just... It's going to start storming pretty soon...and it doesn't really look like anyone's home...be careful" he gestured to the empty driveway and dark house.

She gave him a small grin, but her eyes held a different story. "I'm a big girl, I think I could handle a bit of rain." she got out, and hastily walked towards her house.

Stiles drove away and whispered to himself, "Twitch?"

* * *

**Adelaide stepped onto her front porch, trembling. It started raining about 2 seconds after Stiles drove off, the cold air nipped at her exposed skin violently, thankfully the roof of her porch protected her from the harsh rain. She took her key out of her bra and opened the door to her house. The darkness enveloped her completely, and she hurriedly turned the light on.

The night ran through her mind over, and over again. The body, the blood, the guts, the insects, the pendant, everything. The way her hands slipped when she tried to log into her phone because of the blood that covered them. The feeling of blood and soil mixing on her arms, and the feeling of absolute horror and disgust that ran through her body stayed in her mind. The all to familiar smell of rotting flesh, that stuck with her still, made her stomach churn violently.

She covered her mouth with her hand and closed her eyes as it all came back like a title wave. She gagged.

She quickly made her way to her bathroom, opened the door, ran to the toilet and heaved. Her throat was burning, and the bile that had formed at the bottom of her throat long ago forced itself out. The disgusting taste of vomit, and the lack of oxygen made her eyes redden and her cheeks felt like they were on fire.

Her stomach was emptied into the porcelain bowl and she slumped, waiting for more. Her heavy pants quickened as she saw it again, and again, and again; the bile rose, but it never came out. A small whimper forced its way out of her mouth.

It wasn't just the body that bothered her, it was the memories. The memories of death. The memories that she tried so hard to make disappear, to make go away and never come back. But finding that body was just a reminder. A reminder that death was everywhere. It followed _her_ everywhere.

There was nothing to distract her anymore, no Sheriff, no music, no awkward car silences, and no Stiles. Nothing could keep her from the harsh reality.

_"I-I'm so-sorry"_

She could hear _her _voice.

_"It's okay, It's okay." _

She could feel _her _blood seeping through her jeans.

_"I can't-I can't stop it…-I'm sorry. I can-can't." _

She could see _her _sad smile as she accepted _her_ fate.

_"It's okay." _

Her eyes closed tightly, and she clenched her jaw.

She wouldn't cry. She wouldn't. She let out a shaky breath and opened her eyes.

The tears that were trying to fall, didn't. She pushed everything back down, down into a little box of memories, emotions, secrets that she held close to her. She pushed it all down and began to undress.

* * *

She stepped out of the shower, dressed for bed, and took her phone out of the charger.

_Asshole Bestfriend: Call me, asap. Code Red. _2 Minutes Ago.

The phone rang only once before he was on the other line.

_"I'm coming over in like 10 minutes, just need to get my clothes. Want me to bring some snacks?" _he panted through the phone.

"Yeah, sure." she frowned. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she glanced at the clock in her room. It was 10:45. "What's wrong?"

_"W-what do you mean? Nothing's wrong, Ads." _he stumbled over his words, and his voice lowered with each word.

"Alex, it's 10:45, you're actually _telling _me you're coming over, and you said it was a Code Red. What's wrong?" her frown deepened when there was no response.

_"What if nobody likes me?" _he groaned_, "I mean, as far as they know I'm some guy from a snobby private school, what if they think I'm some stuck up asshole, you know?" _

Adelaide didn't know what to say. She knew he was nervous about going to a new school, but she didn't think it was that bad. He was one of the best people she'd ever met, she didn't know why he was so nervous. So, she laughed. Her laughter rang throughout the room, and Alex definitely heard it. A small whine came from the white ball of fur on her bed and she quieted down.

_"Stop laughing," _he whined into the phone,_ "It isn't funny, Ads"_

"Alex, everyone is going to fucking _love _you. You're Alexander Devereux, best friend of Adelaide Martin, you have nothing to worry about." she added with a small smirk, "Trust me."

_"If you say so..." _he trailed off, _"But I'm still coming over. God knows what would happen if I let you dress yourself tomorrow. It'd probably be disastrous." _And with that, he hung up, leaving her there with a fond smile on her face.

Her thoughts of blood, guts, and guns were replaced with thoughts of Alex, clothes, and food. She pushed everything that happened that night down, put her phone back on its charger, and went downstairs to get some food ready.

As soon as she left her room, her phone started vibrating.

_Unknown Number Calling_

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading! I'd really appreciate it if you told me what you thought of this chapter, I was a bit insecure about it. Feedback from you guys makes me very happy, like reeeaally happy haha. You can PM me if you have any questions, or just want to talk :D **


	5. First Day Jitters

**A/N: **I'm sorry, so so so sorry! Really sorry. I had school, and finals, and all this shit going on, I couldn't write, but it's summer now, and everything had calmed down and I can write again, so I will, and will update more often, and I'm sorry again D: Next chapter will be out a looooot sooner!  
Again, I'm reallllllllllly sorry. Thank you to everyone who followed, favorited and reviewed! (:  
I hope you guys like this chapter, I worked really hard on it. Review, please? It really is amazing to hear what you guys have to say, and makes me feel a lot better. (:

**Chapter 5**

**Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drum by Perfect Circle**

**Bitch by the Plastiscines**

Beads of sweat formed on her forehead as she separated herself from Alex hastily. She tossed and turned, restlessness overtaking her as Adelaide Martin's dream slowly took over.

_**She couldn't breathe. _

_Something was clinging to the back of her throat, stripping her of oxygen; smoke. _

_Heat crawled all over her body, sweat seeped out of her pores. It was almost unbearable. When she opened her eyes, they watered and burned._

_Her senses were on overdrive. Screams echoed in her ears, the smell of burning wood and something else burned her nose. _

_"Adelaide! You need to get out of here-" the voice drifted off as a series of coughs came out of his mouth. She watched, horrified, as fire engulfed him. His burning flesh, horror filled eyes, and painful screams echoed in her mind until all she saw was his burning body. The flames got closer and closer to her, but they never seemed to touch her. She could see him, withering on the ground, begging for help. His face wasn't recognizable. Charred skin and dark blood was all she saw. _

_She tried to turn around, look somewhere else, but she couldn't. She was paralyzed, forced to watch the burning bodies. They were all looking at her with blank, emotionless eyes. Dead. The fire was getting closer, she could feel it. Their eyes were all pointed towards her. Their skin was burnt, their skulls were popping out along with all of their limbs. Eyes were rolling out of their sockets, yet they still seemed to be pointed at her._

_One of them got up. She was walking towards her with a sinister smile on her charred face. The skin cracked with the effort, flakes of it fell to the floor. Adelaide's breathing got faster, and her heartbeat hammered against her ribs. Panic clawed at her throat, and she backed as far away from the scorched body, only to trip onto another. She let out a screaming sob when the girl only stepped closer. _

_ She tried to scream for help, but suddenly, she couldn't make a noise. The girl stepped closer, and closer, until she was right in front of her face. Her rotten breath fanned itself across her face. The closer she got, the closer the flames did. _The sadistic smile never left her face, not until she spoke.__

_"Your turn." she rasped out. She tried to turn away, but she couldn't. She couldn't move. _

_Why couldn't she move? _

_The girl grabbed her chin with her burnt hands and forced it to look at all of the bodies. She could feel the burnt flaked of skin linger on her own. She could smell the horrid sent of burning flesh. "It's your turn" she repeated. Pain started to take over when she looked into the empty eyes of the burnt bodies. Heat spread all over her body, engulfed her entirely until all she felt was pain. She could only smell the burning flesh, her own burning flesh. She could only hear the screams._

_Her screams._

_"Wake up!" one of the burning bodies yelled over her pained screams. "Adelaide, wake up!" _

"Adelaide, wake up!" she shot up, grasping the sheets beneath her palms, and bumping into something hard. Her head collided with a hard, naked, chest. Alex. She was panting for breath, her heart beating out of her chest, strands of hair sticking to her neck. "It's okay, you're okay." Alex wrapped his arms around her shaking body and rocked her back and fourth. His strong arms held her in place as she looked up at him in confusion.

"Alex?" she rasped out. Her throat hurt and she had no idea why. "Wha-" her hand went to her aching throat.

"You were screaming, Adelaide." his voice was shaky. He looked down at her with concern and fear for her written across his features. "Why were you screaming?"

She disentangled herself from the sheets and ran a hand through her tangled curls. "I was having a nightmare." she hurled her feet over the bed and stepped onto the cold floor before standing up. She could hear the small snores coming from her small dog, nestled in between the pillows, but she couldn't really think about that when images of burning flesh and sinister smiles were flashing in her head. She cleared her throat."What time is it?"

"It's-" he checked the clock on one of her night stands, "-6:30." his concern was still there, but he knew better than to push her. She'd tell him when she was ready. Hopefully.

He stretched quickly and walked into her bathroom to take a quick shower, only to stop at the sight of her bloody clothes. His eyes widened and he gaped at the sight. The bloody clothes were strewn across her bathroom floor. Blood and dirt mixed in and suddenly he wanted to throw up.

"I think I'll go make some-" she stepped into the bathroom and stopped mid sentence, "-breakfast." she whispered.

"Adelaide, what...the hell-"

She interrupted him before he could finish his sentence, "Long story short, I found a body, fell in some blood and dirt, called the police and got home." She focused her abnormal eyes on the mess on her bathroom floor. "Shit, I should have cleaned that up."

Meanwhile, Alex was still trying to process what came out of her best friend's mouth. "You-you found a...body." he stumbled over his own words.

"Yeah, really messy, by the way. I don't recommend it." she bent down to clean up all that she'd left behind. The pendant was still resting on the sink. She put the clothes into a trash bag and left it there to burn in the chimney later.

"Why didn't you tell me when I got here?" he crossed his arms and glared at her.

Adelaide bit her lip to keep from snapping at him and glared right back, "I just didn't want to talk about it, okay?" she crossed her arms, "I'd rather not think about..._that._"

His eyes softened and he let go of his hostile stance. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, Ads." he walked over to her and pulled her into his warm embrace.

She tensed at the contact, stiff in his arms until he tightened his arms around her. She wound her arms around his waist and pat his back awkwardly. "You know, not that I'm complaining or anything, but I'm really hungry, and you're sorta taking up my breakfast time." she mumbled. In record time, her stomach grumbled.

He let her go; his eyes brightened at the thought of food. "What are you making?" he asked as he took his shirt off.

"Breakfast Sandwich." she walked out of the room after calling out, "Your stuff's under the sink. If you even _think _about using my conditioner, so help me god…" she didn't finish her sentence, but the threat was pretty clear.

She let her feet take her down the spiral staircase and into the kitchen. Her bare feet padded against the cold, tiled floor of her kitchen as she made her way to the fridge. She took out all the ingredients and started to make the delicious meal. She'd learned how to make it on the internet.

Her mind involuntarily drifted to her nightmare. The heat, the blood, the screams; her screams. It was so vivid, so _real. _She could _smell _the burning flesh and wood, the terror filled screams were clear in her mind as well as the burning bodies staring right into her soul.

The ringing house phone snapped her out of her thoughts. She made sure the food was okay before going to answer. Hardly anyone ever called on the house phone, the only people that really called were those annoying advertisers. She grabbed the house phone with furrowed brows and looked down at the caller ID. Her spine straightened almost instantly, and her eyes hardened.

It was her father.

"You gonna answer that?" said a voice by the stove. She turned around and saw Alex looking at her with expectant eyes.

"No." she put the phone back in its place and made her way to the stove with tense shoulders. The phone kept ringing until, finally, he got the hint.

"Who was it?"

She closed her eyes, breathed in deeply through her nose, and out through her mouth. "No one important." she turned to him with a small smirk before gathering the food and making two Breakfast Sandwiches. "Now eat up."

Alex raised his brows, but ate his sandwich anyway. Concern was etched onto his features. She didn't want him to be concerned. Her father was just another thing she hated talking about. He wasn't worth the oxygen she wasted talking to him.

"You okay?" he asked. Her eyes were unfocused and she was quiet. Too quiet.

Adelaide was _never_ quiet.

"Hmm?" she met his eyes briefly, "Oh, yeah, I'm fine." she gave him a crooked grin. "You nervous about starting school?"

"Of course I'm nervous, I mean, they're normal teenagers, you know? I'm from a 'prestigious private school'" he rolled his eyes, "-almost all of the people there are complete assholes. What if they think I'm the same way?"

Adelaide scowled at the tall blonde. "Wow, you're even more of an idiot than I thought." he glared at her, "_All _teenagers are assholes, Alex. Besides, they'll love you. You're one of the best people I've ever met. You're nice, you're hot, you're not a douchebag, you're..-_you_" his glare turned into a soft smile.

"That's one of the nicest things you've said to me since you've been back." he laughed at the small grimace that appeared on her face.

She playfully punched his arm. "Don't get used to it."

* * *

After finishing their breakfast, Adelaide went upstairs to take a shower and go through with her morning routine while Alex washed the dishes. He said he'd be back to choose her clothes, something she was _very _reluctant about.

He, like his sister, tended to go all out. Meaning he'd want to dress her up like a barbie; pastels, tons of make up, and high heals. He and Lydia made sure she'd mastered the art of walking in heals.

"No." she snapped as he showed her some hooker heels she didn't even know she owned. They were a bright, ugly red with some orange streaks. Why did she even _own _those?

He laughed at her disgusted face, and pulled her to her feet. They didn't do much to her hair other than put some Paul Mitchell serum in it to keep it from frizzing. Adelaide didn't like _anyone _messing with her hair. Only she, her mother, and Lydia knew how to handle it. "I knew you'd hate them."

She looked at the clock and saw it was 7am. They only had 20 minutes left, and she wasn't even dressed. "We only have 20 minutes left, so hurry up and get on with your torture."

He rolled his eyes, "Oh, come on, it's not that bad. Lydia would have done much worse and you know it. Besides, we don't need 20 minutes, I packed your outfit last night while you were eating. I love it, and you'll love it, I promise." Once they were in her huge closet, she saw the outfit on the black leather table in the center.

Her eyebrows raised in surprise, and she was pleased. She expected something bright, cute, girly, and...not her style. Instead she got the exact opposite. It was comfortable, hot, and completely her. She didn't really mind the heals anymore.

"You totally love it." Alex proclaimed with a smug grin on his face. "I knew it! I knew you'd love it."

She had no idea why he was so excited about it, but she wasn't going to admit it, definitely not after _that. _She gave a small shrug, "Eh. It's whatever."

His smug grin fell from his face, and he just rolled his eyes. "You suck."

She smirked at him over her shoulder and started to change into the outfit he prepared for her. "You know, the fact that you have to choose what _I wear _is absolutely ridiculous. I am not a child, I'm a teenager and I'm completely capable of doing shit myself." her half playful, half serious voice made Alex roll his eyes again.

"Please, you'd be lost without me." A large grin found its way onto his face when she finished changing into it. The outfit went perfectly with her. The black leather leggings hugged her legs nicely, the heals made her legs seem longer, and while the white tank was see through, it didn't matter, it was a nice outfit, and Adelaide wasn't shy. "Besides, you love it. Now, let's get going. I don't want to be late on my first day."

She walked out of her closet, grabbed her phone, bag, and keys, and made her way to her garage with Alex following closely behind. "We're not taking your car today, Alex." she exclaimed when she saw his confused expression, "We're taking one of...mine."

"Are you talking about-?"

"They're mine now." she cut him off and opened the door to the garage. There sat 2 cars, the only good thing her father left behind. She wasn't supposed to use them until she turned 18, but she didn't want to wait. She finally had her license, she was going to take advantage. She walked towards her favorite one, a 1971 Dodge Challenger. The black paint job felt smooth against her fingers as she ran her hand over the hood.

She opened the door of the beautiful car and sighed in contentment. Her father made many changes to the interior. It looked a lot more...modern, the black, leather interior was shiny and new. He was a _big _fan of cars, and that was passed onto her. She learned to drive stick just so she could drive the precious car. The speakers were 100% better than before, and the radio wasn't the same one as before. It was much better.

"I'm not so sure about this, Ads..." said Alex. She looked over at him with her irresistible puppy eyes. "aw shit." she heard him mutter. It was those eyes that had gotten him into trouble before.

It was always the eyes.

"Come on, Alex, pleeeease! I finally got my licence, and they're mine. How horrible would it be to not be able to drive your own car when it's literally right in front of you?" his resistance was crumbling, she bit her lip and made her eyes wider, sadder, and even pulled out the big guns. Tears. "Alex, please." she whispered finally.

"I hate you." he groans before opening the door and sliding in.

"You love me." she smirked widely as the garage door opened.

Her mother's warning text from the other night was completely ignored, but it was still in her mind.

_Don't do anything stupid. _

Too late.

* * *

By the time they got to the school, Alex was clutching at the 'oh, shit' bar and Adelaide was looking for parking. His eyes were wide. She was going an 80 in a 30 zone. Not only was that illegal, but it was pretty fucking terrifying.

Adelaide was a pretty skilled driver, but she was _fast. __  
_

"Do you see any parking? I don't see anything." she looked to him and soon rolled her eyes, "Oh, come on, I wasn't going _that _fast." her eyes scanned for parking, and she finally found a spot by the bike rack, only someone else had their eyes set on it. Her eyes narrowed. "Hold on tight." she swerved right into the spot just as the silver porsche was making their way into it. "Dickwad." she muttered under her breath before taking out the keys.

When she turned to look at Alex, she noticed many things. He looked positively terrified, he was a bit pale, and he was still clutching at the safety bar. She turned off the radio right when it came onto a song from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. "You nervous?"

His bright blue eyes met her own and she was taken aback at the amount of uncertainty in them. "Uh-no. Just...-just a little hesitant 'bout getting out and facing some people I've never met."

She pursed her lips before reaching out to pat his shoulder. "How many times do I have to tell you that you're going to be fine? You're _my _best friend, you can handle me at my absolute _worst, _yet you're nervous about meeting some normal teenagers? You're Alexander Devereux, Adelaide Martin's best friend, and one of the hottest guys in Beacon Hills. You'll have them wrapped around your finger by the end of the day." she gave him a playful wink, "It also helps that you're friends with the two hottest girls in Beacon Hills High." he laughed lightly. "Now get up, we have a school to rule."

He felt _much _better after her little...speech, so he opened the door as soon as she did and stepped out. His face held a crooked grin to hide his nervousness, and he could see Adelaide's signature smirk shining through.

People were looking at them in awe and envy. Adelaide was used to the attention, and so was Alex, that didn't mean he liked it.

The person in the silver porsche opened their door, and out stepped out none other than Jackson Whittemore. A glare one his face, his Armani sunglasses on top of his head, he even had a scarf around his neck.

_Douchebag Alert._

"What the hell, Adelaide?" he nearly yelled. Adelaide could see her sister through his window with a large grin on her face.

"You snooze you lose." she smirked as she wrapped her arm around Alex's waist, and he wrapped his around her shoulders. They walked away, passing a guy with shaggy hair, chaining up his bike and watching the scene with amused eyes. She gave him a two finger wave as they walked by. "So, _new kid_-" she teased, "Do you have to wait or something?"

"Uhh" he racked his brain for the information, "They told me to wait for the principle to come get me." he nodded in confirmation before looking ahead. The school was pretty big, compared to the private school he went too anyway. It was a little intimidating, but from what he heard Lydia and Adelaide were probably some the most intimidating girls in the school, so he had nothing to worry about.

He felt a pull at his arm, and the next second he's sitting on a cement bench.

"I'll wait with you until the bell rings." Adelaide exclaimed as she crossed one leg over the other and straightened her spine.

Anyone that passed by threw them glances. Everyone was talking about the new 'hot' guy sitting with Adelaide. Was that her boyfriend? Just what was she up too during Summer Break? He's probably just some guy she'll dump in the next two days. And his personal favorite, 'He's probably the father of the baby she had during Summer Break.'

"Huh." he vocalized. These people weren't different from those at his private school. Not at all.

Ads was right.

"What?" Adelaide broke him out of his haze.

"Just realized something." he muttered as they waited for the bell to ring and a principle to come get him. "You know, you don't have to wait for me. I don't want you to be late to your class."

"If I leave you here alone, they'd pounce on you like hungry cougars." she replied. "Be thankful, I'm saving you the trouble." she gave him a lazy smirk as they sat their and waited for the stupid bell to ring. "Besides, it's Alpha Station, that doesn't count."

"Gee, thanks." he deadpanned.

After waiting for about two more minutes, Adelaide started to get impatient. The bell was supposed to have already rang.

Her eyes scanned the area. Maybe the bell schedule was changed. There were rumors Freshman year that it would change to a block schedule, thank god. 6 periods a day made for tons of homework, besides, getting out at 3:30 every day? No thanks. Her eyes landed on a familiar figure, lanky, tall, and a bit too energetic.

He was talking to the guy she waved at before, animatedly. He was making hand movements, quick and spazzy, his eyes were wide and lively, and he looked _really _excited, it was a little hard to keep up.

"What are you looking at?" Alex asked curiously. He looked the direction she was staring at so intently, but he only saw two boys with Lacrosse sticks hanging out of their bags. "Oh, hey, they have Lacrosse here." he grinned. He used to play Lacrosse in Devenford Prep. "You think I can still try out?" he asked Adelaide.

"I don't know," she shrugged, "I only pay attention to Wrestling and Cross Country." She felt a tug at her arm, and looked up to see Alex standing up. "Where are we going?"

"We're gonna go ask them" he gave one last tug, and she stumbled into his muscular back. She tried to pull back, but he wouldn't let her go.

"Aleeeex" she groaned as he kept pulling at her.

"Stop whining" was all he said before they finally reached them. Alex, being the social butterfly he was, gave them his famous grin, and held his hand out. "Hey, I'm Alex."

They froze.

The two boys looked at him with a vary of emotions. Confusion and disbelief being the main ones. The shorter, shaggy haired one had his shirt halfway up, revealing a bandaged wound. "Uh..." came from the boy wounded boy as he pulled his shirt down and hesitantly held his hand out for Alex to shake. "Hey, I'm Scott."

Stiles wasn't as friendly. Instead he looked at Adelaide with narrowed eyes. "You." he stated. He made it sound like an accusation, but Adelaide couldn't blame him. Their first meeting wasn't exactly...pleasant. She basically shoved blood in his face.

"Hello to you too." she raised a brow, and planted a sarcastic smile on her face.

His caramel eyes narrowed and his mouth opened to respond, but a sharp elbow to the ribs stopped him from doing so. Scott looked at him with warning in his own dark eyes. _Be nice, _they said.

Stiles gave a small groan/huff kind of noise and crossed his arms. Usually, he would have been ecstatic to have been talking to one of the Martin twins, but he didn't exactly _like _Adelaide.

Alex cleared his throat after sending Adelaide a pointed look that said _you're telling me what happened later, and you'll be nice, now shut up. _Best friends could communicate that way.

"So, I couldn't help but notice your Lacrosse sticks..."

"Yeah, so?" Stiles asked with just the tiniest bit of attitude. Enough to have Adelaide shoot him a sharp glare that had him reeling back. He earned himself another sharp elbow to the rib.

Alex was a little taken aback by it, but continued anyways. "So, I was wondering if it was still okay to try out? Was it a summer thing, or...-"

"Actually, try outs are today after school." Scott gave a cute puppy grin that made even Adelaide want to smile in return. He was like a little puppy she wanted to pet. "I'm sure you could borrow some equipment from Coach." Another cute little grin. _  
_

"Thanks, man. I appreciate it." Alex gave him a large pat on the back, just as Jackson and Lydia, along with their little followers, came up to them.

"Adelaide, I _love _your outfit." Some girl she didn't know the name of squealed as she put her hand on Adelaide's shoulder. "It's totally hot."

Adelaide knew she should have probably been nice, but this girl's fake tone and too sweet perfume was giving her a headache. She gave her a grin that probably looked more like a grimace and shook her hand off her shoulder. "Thanks"

Meanwhile, Lydia and Jackson were snuggling up to each other, and Stiles hated it. He hated Jackson, but he loved Lydia. And if Jackson made her happy…he still didn't like it. At all. In fact, he hated it. ]

"Thank god, I thought I'd have to bring something extra for you to wear. Your taste in clothing is awful, Addy, how'd you even manage?" Lydia spoke.

Alex looked quite proud in that moment, to be the one who'd chosen Adelaide's outfit. "It was me, actually. You know Adelaide would have probably come in her Batman PJs if it weren't for me."

Adelaide rolled her eyes, "I'm right here, asswipes."

Jackson laughed at her.

Lydia smiled.

Alex nudged her teasingly.

Stiles and Scott just watched on with disbelief. This was the popular table. This was the popular clique. These were the people you wanted to be friends with in High School, and they were _willingly _socializing with them...sorta.

"Adelaide, babe-"

"Jason?" Adelaide started.

"Yeah?" he replied with sparkling brown eyes and a cocky smirk. He was one of the Lacrosse boys. He was someone she tolerated, only because he was actually decent behind his cocky bravado.

"Shut up."

His face fell. Everyone else laughed.

Alex looked at Scott and Stiles with his own smile in place. A smile that could blind someone it was so bright. "So, Lydia, Jackson-" he said Jackson's name with distaste, "-this is Scott and this is Stiles, they're my friends."

Suddenly, all eyes were on them. All 4 pairs. That's 8 eyes. On Scott and Stiles.

"Scott" Stiles whispered, in what he thought was a quiet way but really wasn't, to Scott.

"Yeah?" he whispered back as everyone else looked at them with expectant eyes.

Except for Adelaide.

No, she looked like she was about to burst with laughter.

"Introduce yourself." Stiles looked down at his best friend while 'subtly' motioning towards the staring group. Scott looked back at him with incredulous eyes.

"No, you go."

"He said your name first" Stiles shot back, and it continued that way until Alex, being the peace maker he was, threw his arms over the both of them.

"Yeah, this is Scott-" he patted Scott's shoulder, "-and this is Stiles." ]

Stiles tried to wave, but it came out as more of a flail than a wave. And it was awkward.

Very awkward.

Scott only gave a sheepish grin.

It was only when the bell rang that they stopped staring.

"Saved by the bell, huh?" Alex exclaimed. Adelaide walked up to them with an amused grin playing on her blood red lips.

"That was hilarious." her grin only grew as Stiles gave her an annoyed glare and a roll of his eyes. She raised her eyebrow at him before turning towards Alex before speaking to him. "Okay, so I have to get to my Alpha Station, okay? You said the principle would come out and meet you, give you your schedule and your locker number, and you're good. We'll probably have at least one class together, so I'll see you in those, and I'll go with you to try outs."

Alex nodded and gave her a grateful smile before taking her hand in his own and squeezing it to show his appreciation. "Thanks, Ads. See you in a bit." he gave one last squeeze before she left.

And suddenly, everyone else left, leaving him to sit by the only person left on the bench he was sitting on before.

He walked up and sat right next to her, giving her that smile everyone seemed to love and holding out his hand.

"Hey, I'm Alex."

She gave a shy, dimpled smile as she took his hand.

"I'm Allison."

* * *

After a few hours of school Adelaide realized there was another new person in Beacon Hills. Arianne or Addison, something like that.

Sweet, shy, and beautiful, or so she heard. She was sure she'd meet her soon enough.

She was tapping her pencil on the desk and waiting for the last bell to ring. It was the last period of the day, History, and she was eager to leave. Introductions were annoying as hell, as well as the people that just talked and talked when quiet was needed. It was only the first day of school and she was already over it. At least it was a minimum day.

Thankfully, she had Lydia in almost all of her classes. Alex was in some of her classes; PE, English, and Economics.

With her leg crossed over the other, her hand on her chin, and her ear buds plugged in, she was the perfect picture of boredom, just waiting for the bell to ring. Just 30 more seconds.

_Ring!_

Finally, she took her bag, text Alex, and got out of the stuffy class.

Apparently, Alex _did _make friends with the new girl, and he was with her.

She finally got to the girl's locker. Alex was leaning back on it while making light conversation as she put some stuff in there.

"Hey" Addison, or whatever, jumped up from Adelaide's sudden appearance. There was nothing funnier than watching someone practically shit themselves just because you're suddenly there. It was hilarious, yeah, but when Alex shot her a pointed look, Adelaide tried to smother her laughter.

"Gah, I-I'm sorry, you just, you scared me." Addison tucked a lock of brown hair behind her ear with a small, sheepish smile, and she suddenly reminded her of Scott.

"Yeah, her face tends to do that to people." Alex exclaimed with that smug little grin on his face. He let out a booming laugh when Adelaide punched his arm.

"It's fine." she rolled her eyes. "I'm Adelaide." she held her hand out for Addison to take.

"I'm Allison." she gave her a dimple grin. "I'm new here, obviously." she let out a nervous chuckle.

Allison, there it was. Not Addison, Allison.

"Right." Adelaide let herself get distracted as she spotted her twin walking their way with a beaming smile on her face. "Hey, Lyd." she gave her a small smirk and both turned to Allison.

She looked like a dear caught in headlights under their gazes.

"Wow, you're-you're twins." she pointed out as she looked back and forth between the two.

"Really? I didn't notice." Adelaide felt a sharp pain at her rib and turned to glare at her sister, who was only giving her the same look Alex gave her not that long ago.

"Uh-" Allison was interrupted before she could finish her sentence.

"That jacket is absolutely killer! Where'd you get it?" Lydia looked at Allison with eager, encouraging eyes, and Allison answered her question shyly.

"My mom was a buyer for a boutique back in San Francisco."

That was what did it for Lydia, apparently. Fashion was always something she was passionate about, most likely because their mother was a well known designer. It never really appealed to Adelaide as much as Lydia, that didn't mean she didn't appreciate it.

"And you are my new best friend." she gave Allison that bright smile both Martins had.

Adelaide noticed Jackson before Lydia did and her lip curled in distaste at his way of greeting her twin. Adelaide and Jackson had a complicated relationship, the only thing that really brought them together was Lydia.

He and Lydia were weird together. No, actually they were perfect, and that was why they started going out. It was expected of them, it guaranteed more power over the school, and they liked power. Adelaide didn't like it, she wanted her sister to be with someone she actually _cared _about, she wanted her to be happy, and for a while Lydia wasn't. Lydia and Jackson spewed insults at one another when no one else was around, they argued; they absolutely hated one another, until something brought them closer. And suddenly they didn't hate each other as much, they respected one another, and they loved each other. Only they showed it differently than most.

It was complicated. Love wasn't something Adelaide understood very well.

"Hey, Jackson." Lydia breathed out.

After their little introductions, Adelaide took Alex's arm in her own.

"Well, we're gonna go see Coach." Alex threw his arm over Adelaide's shoulder and they left the trio on their own. Adelaide knew how excited Alex really was to join the Lacrosse team, so she would support him.

"Do you think I'll make it?" Alex asked when they reached the boy's locker room.

"Yes." she answered automatically. Alex was _amazing _at Lacrosse, better than Jackson, even. He had fast reflexes, and a good arm. "You'll definitely make it. Now get in there, I'll be on the bleachers, okay?"

She popped his butt lightly, ignoring his small yelp as she walked towards the field.

* * *

Adelaide found Allison and Lydia sitting at the top of the bleachers to watch the boys try out. They were chatting aimlessly about who knows what, so she just sat by Lydia and barely listened as she waited for the guys to come out.

And when they did, she let out a large _whoop _for Alex. Everyone was staring at her, but Alex was giving her a thumbs up, which she returned.

"Wow, you guys are really cute together." Adelaide heard Allison say from behind her. She turned to her with confusion probably all over her face. Adelaide wasn't _with _anyone. Allison must have caught onto her confusion because she clarified, "Alex."

All of a sudden, both Adelaide and Lydia booming with laughter, their bodies were shaking and their smiles were identical. It was just hilarious that Allison didn't see it. It was a bit obvious. The idea of dating Alex was ludicrous and just hilarious.

"Oh-" Adelaide rasped out, "Oh my god," Laugh "No, no, no." Chuckle, and again, she doubled over, so Lydia took over with chuckles of her own.

"Sweetheart, Alex is gay."

Allison turned beet red. Her lips were pulled into an embarrassed smile and her eyes were apologetic. "I'm so sorry, I really thought you guys were...together. God, that's so embarrassing.

"It's okay, you're not the first one." Adelaide gave another small chuckle and sat back down as the players started throwing the ball at the poor goalie. He caught the first one on the face, and Adelaide recognized him as Scott when he looked up. Surprisingly, after that one mishap, he caught many of the other balls. Adelaide was glad he showed those over confident assholes that they weren't the best out there.

"Who is that?" Allison asked. She was looking at Scott with a mix of curiosity and wonder. Adelaide understood why, Scott was alarmingly good. Really good. He was faster than even Alex was, and he caught the ball each and every time it was thrown at him.

"Him?" Lydia started, "I'm not sure who he is." Even Lydia was curious about him. The girl who usually had her eyes focused solely on Jackson. "Why?"

"That's Scott, he was with us this morning, Lydia." Adelaide interjected. "I guess he's the new best thing."

Suddenly, Jackson pushed himself at the beginning of the line with steely determination. He was obviously trying to prove he was more 'macho' or whatever. Guys were stupid sometimes. He ran at full speed while everyone sat on the edge of their seats in anticipation.

Even Adelaide. She was watching intently, waiting for Scott to miss, for him to fail. The ball seemed to go in slow motion, only a small blur, until suddenly, it was in Scott's net.

"Wooo!" Stiles was heard over the cheering. "That's my friend!"

Adelaide cheered along with everyone else. People were clapping and cheering him on. Lydia cheered too, and when Jackson shot her a look, she glared right back.

The Martin Glare was in full use.

* * *

Soon enough, try outs were over and Adelaide was at Alex's house, cuddling up with Jake.

He was asleep while Alex and Adelaide were talking about try outs.

"Scott was actually pretty good, really good, actually." Alex brought a cheeto to his mouth to eat it, but it was snatched from him by Adelaide, who was munching on it happily.

"Yeah, he was pretty good. Did you see Jackson's face?" she barked out a laugh, "Priceless."

"He looked pissed, actually." Alex rolled his eyes. Jackson was an arrogant little shit, and anyone that showed him up was immediately on his bad side. "Really pissed."

"Please, he's just jealous be cause someone was actually better than him." Adelaide rolled her eyes and grabbed another chip from him. She knew Jackson was competitive, hell, so was she, but he took it to a whole other level. It didn't help that he was a little bitch. _  
_

"I don't know how Danny could stand him. He's such a nice person, and Jackson's just...not." Alex exclaimed and shook his head.

Adelaide's head snapped up and a smirk slowly appeared on her face. Since when did Danny and Alex talk? An idea formed in her head. Danny liked guys. Alex liked guys. They were both hot, and 100 times awesome, they were perfect for each other!

"Danny, huh?" Alex caught sight of the look on her face and started to protest. He knew that look. He'd been the victim of it more than once.

"It's not like that, Ads." she wouldn't accept his answer, and he groaned. He'd never hear the end of it.

"You little dog!" Adelaide threw her head back and gave a small laugh. "I never knew you had it in you." She gave a suggestive waggle of her eyebrows and he groaned again.

"I'm haven't done anything!" he whined.

"But you're planning it! Never thought you'd come out to be such a _slut_." Alex knew she was only playing, but his cheeks heated up anyways, and he willed it to go away with all his powers. "Oh. My. God. You're into him, aren't you?"

"Shut up!" he groaned loudly, once again, and covered his flaming cheeks with his hands. He stood up and ignored her small chuckles and cooes, "I'm gonna go get some more chips." he shook his head and went into the kitchen while Adelaide was left with Jake, who she thought was sleeping.

Apparently, he wasn't. He looked up at her with such innocence in his eyes, that the words that came out of his mouth were almost unbelievable. And she laughed.

"Addy, what's a slut?"

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks for reading c; I hope you liked it, and I'm sorry again for taking forever.

Any feedback at all would be amazing, you guys are amazing, I hope you understand why I took forever. Review, follow, favorite, PM me if you have any questions, I would love to talk to you guys (:

xoxo Brii(:


	6. A Little Party Never Killed Anyone

**Thanks so much for the reviews, follows, and favorites! It means so much to me that you guys like it (: I really hope you guys like this chapter, I've already started working on the next one so it will be up sometime soon. Please don't forget to leave a review, they actually _do _give me motivation and make me so beyond happy.**

**Also, a small warning, if you're uncomfortable with talk about any kind of drug use or anything like that, you could skip the part where it's mentioned, I'll put a warning up (: OH ALSO VERY VERY VERY VERRRRRYYY LIGHT INTIMATE SITUATION LIKE SEXY STUFF, ja feel? But it's all good in the hood…i'll just put a warning up for that too cutiess c:**

**Outfits are on polyvore, I have the link on my profile if you're interested (:**

**Chapter 6**

**Feel Real by Deptford Goth**

**Starstruck by ****Santogold**

Explaining the meaning of a slut to a 5 year-old little boy wasn't something Adelaide was going to do, not until he was older anyway. So instead she told him that a slut was a 'happy person' and he believed it instantly.

"Is Alex a slut?" he had asked once she told him. She could see the small wheels turning in his head like clockwork as he stored the information in his developing brain while she held in her laughs.

"Yes, Jake, Alex is a slut."

"Am I a slut?" He looked up at her with wonder and curiosity. It was just so c_ute._

"I don't know, Jakey, are you a happy person?"

"Yes." He replied instantly with a big grin, "'specially when I'm with you." She gave a lasting awwww, as he wrapped his arms around her neck and laid his small body across her lap.

He was such a charmer. Adelaide could see him getting along with the girls when he got older, and with his looks? He was definitely gonna get some action. He looked so much like Alex, like a little mini Alex. Jake was the exact picture of a past Alex….maybe a little more blonde, but that was it.

Adelaide smiled so big, her eyes twinkled. She gave him a big kiss on the cheek and laughed when he started to giggle uncontrollably.

"You're definitely a slut."

She really hoped he'd never repeat that to his mother.

* * *

After a while of playing with Jake and talking to Alex while he waited for his mother to get home, Adelaide got into her car and went out to the woods.

She knew that it probably wasn't a smart idea, seeing as she had found a body there just the night before, but she'd always found solace in the nature surrounding her, something she needed after the night, and morning she'd had. It was a peaceful and beautiful place, besides, it was the only place she could do what she was planning on doing.

**She parked her car, got out, and lay down on the warm hood. Her bare shoulders touched the metal as her eyes wandered around the area. The trees above her glimmered in the sun, it was like something out of a Tumblr post on a hipster's blog. It was beautiful. Dandelions were sprouting out of the ground and the mellow music playing from the confines of her car added to the peaceful feeling.

Suddenly, her phone was ringing loudly. Without checking the caller ID, she answered.

"Hello?"

_"Adelaide" _she heard someone breath out. They sounded so relieved, so happy to hear her, like the earth was lifted from their shoulders and Adelaide could feel it too, only she didn't want to because she knew _exactly _who it was. Someone she'd known in New York, someone she'd learned to care about and trust. Suddenly all she could see was New York.

Adelaide could still see the tears in her eyes and the gasps that left her mouth with each quaking breath as she watched Adelaide and _her_ say goodbye. She could still taste the blood in her mouth, coppery, salty and sweet all at once.

"_Adelaide…" _her voice cracked and Adelaide listened with wide eyes and a trembling heart.

"Krystal." she could hear her own voice; vulnerability stuck to it like glue, weakness tethered around her entire being and she hated it. "Krystal, why are you-"

_"Her funeral was today, Ads." _A sob echoed in Adelaide's mind like a scream in a cave. It was so broken, so sad, so…helpless, and she could feel it; her pain, she could feel every bit of it. _"You weren't there." _Adelaide knew. She knew she should have been there, but she couldn't do it. _"I needed you."_ _  
_

"Krystal, I-" Adelaide took a strong, shuddering breath through her nose and closed her eyes. "-I couldn't stay." She could hear Krystal sniffling on the other end, she could feel the pain crawling back out of that box. It was crawling just beneath her skin, like ants. "I'm sorry." Adelaide's own voice cracked and wavered.

There was a lump at her throat, the sun was suddenly beating down on her body like a subtle punishment for not being there for her friend. For running away like the coward she knew she was.

But it was too soon.

So she hung up, and chose to run away from her problem.

God, she was such a horrible person.

**-WARNING-**

She took out her lighter and brought the glass pipe to her mouth to take a hit. The smoke filled her lungs a small burn touched the back of her throat before the feeling completely disappeared. She let the smoke stay before exhaling and watching the smoke swirl lightly around her.

The sound of firing guns, blood, and the loud sound of pleading screams slowly disappeared from her mind, her nightmare, the call from her father, it was all slipping away.

She started to feel a calm settle over her after a few more hits, just enough to calm her, and not enough to have her stoned off her ass. The scent of pot was heavy in the air and _Fade _by _Mexico City Blondes _played through the speakers as she laid on the hood of her car. She hummed along with it.

It brought Adelaide peace, a sort of serene feeling. It helped her. A feeling of calm settled over her. Her mind was foggy, and she was just...there. Everything slowed, and everything became so much more...peaceful.

The music was better, the fresh air felt heavenly against her warm skin, and her mind wasn't running a hundred miles a minute. She opened her eyes and smiled at the sight before her. Two birds were dancing in the sky, chirping and flying about until they perched atop a tree. Leaves drifted away from their homes the swirls of brown and green colored them as they floated slowly towards the ground.

Her bright crystal eyes watched the nature curiously. It was like a whole other world. Everything else was chaotic, wild, none of it was _real, _but this? It was real, and it was beautiful. _  
_

Her eye lids fluttered closed as she just laid on the roof of her car and..._relaxed._

* * *

"Dude, I'm telling you, you're a werewolf." Stiles laughed when Scott punched his arm.

"And I'm telling you, that there could be something seriously wrong with me."

After the try outs, Scott had been bitching non stop about how he'd been feeling different. He was hearing things he wasn't supposed to hear, smelling things, like the Mint Mojito Gum in Stiles' pocket, and even went as far as saying he didn't feel breathless throughout all of tryouts. So Stiles, being the sarcastic jokester that he was, decided to play a little joke on him.

In the end, Scott got a little agitated and got over it 30 seconds later, as per usual.

Suddenly, Stiles collided roughly with Scott's back.

"Dude, what the hell?" Stiles rubbed at his injured nose and narrowed his eyes at his best friend's back.

"Do you smell that?" Scott started sniffing at the air like some sort of dog and started walking in a different direction.

"Dude, your senses are totally out of whack, because I don't smell anything. Like at all." Stiles still followed after his friend, even though he was probably about to lead them to their deaths.

"No, seriously, it's like…-it's weird." Scott sniffed the air once more and motioned for Stiles to do the same.

Stiles rolled his eyes, but complied.

"Right, real nice Scott. Great description." Scott was being completely un-_wait_. "What the-" he caught the scent Scott had been talking about, and his eyes widened considerably. It was familiar, really familiar.

"What?" Scott looked at him. "What is it? You look like you know what it is." Scott, innocent little Scott. He'd obviously not been around this kinda stuff before….not that Stiles had, but his father was a Sheriff, he was bound to catch the scent of it at one point in his life.

Suddenly, they both heard a song they didn't recognize. It was a good song, though.

They were close enough to whoever it was to hear them humming to the song. The curiosity was killing Stiles, he wanted to know who was out there.

"It's pot, Scott." Stiles shook his head at the look of disbelief on his friend's face. "You know, I heard that Jack Johnson, from our English class, smoked too much weed, and crapped his intestines out. They had to, literally, roll it in a ball and put it back inside of him. It was disgusting." Stiles shuttered in disgust before looking at his best friend.

Scott looked at Stiles with an expression filled with doubt and disgust. "Really?"

"Yeah, buddy." he patted Scott's shoulder in mock sympathy. "Really."

Stiles pulled Scott with him, following the sound of music and the very faint smell of pot. It only took a few seconds to find what they were looking for, but what they saw, wasn't what they were expecting, or rather who.

There lay Adelaide Martin, her hands under her head, her curls splayed around her, on the roof of her rather beautiful car. She looked oblivious to the world as she hummed the song that was playing through her speakers.

She looked so calm, so peaceful. Had it not been for the clothes she was wearing, he would have mistaken her for Lydia.

Scott cleared his throat loudly and Stiles watched in amusement as she jumped in fright.

"Uh...hi."

Her eyes were wide and alert until she realized who they were, then she just rolled her eyes and sat back down.

"Never do that again." she muttered lowly before putting whatever she had on her roof top into her car.

"Sorry, I just-I didn't know..." Scott tried to mend the situation.

"It's fine." she threw him a lazy smile and took out a water bottle to drink from. "What are you guys even doing here? In the woods? Alone?" She looked from Scott to Stiles before a smirk came across her face. "Together." her suggestive tone didn't go unnoticed by them. She waggled her eyebrows with a suggestive smirk playing on her red lips.

Scott jumped back as if he'd been electrocuted while Stiles simply rolled his eyes and mumbled under his breath 'real mature'.

"What? No!" Scott said it so suddenly, and so loudly, it made Stiles narrow his eyes.

"What do you mean, no?" Stiles put his hand on his hips and looked at Scott with accusing eyes.

Adelaide watched on like it was a movie, if only she had popcorn and Cheetos.

"I-I'm just saying...I mean, you're not really my _type, _man" Scott sighed, as if this was something he was used to.

"What, so you're saying I'm not attractive?"

"No, man, you're...-you're attractive, I just don't _go _for guys."

Adelaide took their distraction as a way to get into her car and drive away. She was pretty sure she could still drive. Sort of.

They didn't notice until they heard the sound of a roaring engine and the voice of an extremely pissed off man.

"What are you doing here? Huh? This is private property."

* * *

When Adelaide finally got home the first place she went was her en suite. She was pretty sure she smelled disgusting, and while some people didn't care, Adelaide was obsessed with being clean.

She was still a little buzzed, but she just needed to eat a bit and take a nap after.

She quickly undressed and stepped under the warm spray of the water. She sighed in content before quickly finishing and changing into her sleepwear. Which only consisted of a batman shirt and her underwear.

She was patting her hair with a towel when she saw her sister come into her room with her own PJs on.

"Hey." Lydia started as she jumped on Adelaide bed. Ava, Adelaide's dog, barked happily and jumped on along with Lydia.

"Hey, Lyd, what's up?" Adelaide threw the towel in her hamper and sat next to Lydia while Ava curled into Addy's side.

"Nothing, I'm bored." She picked at her nails. "No homework, no Jackson." She rolled her eyes. "No nothing. There is nothing interesting going on at the moment."

"So you figured you'd come to me?" Adelaide raised her brow and gave her sister and an amused smirk.

"Well, yeah. You're not as boring as others." Lydia leaned on her elbow and pat the bed when Prada's annoying self decided to join.

"Where's Jackson?" Adelaide was happy she finally got to spend some quality time with her sister. It'd been a while since that had happened, and it was refreshing.

"Don't know, don't care." Lydia lied, and Adelaide saw straight through it, but she decided not to comment. "Besides, why would I want to spend time with him when I could hang out with my beautiful sister?" Lydia batted her lashes with a twinkle in her bright green eyes.

"We're twins."

Adelaide ran her fingers throughout Ava's fur absentmindedly.

"Exactly."

They both let out identical chuckles of amusement. They were so in tune with one another, yet not at all. They were twins, but they were different. They were like two sides of the same coin.

Adelaide decided she didn't want to wait anymore, she wanted to know what was going on.

"So what's going on with you and Jackson?"

Lydia stiffened in response and her eyes flitted to Adelaide's knowing ones. She let out a sigh before she brought Prada to her side. "He's angry with me."

"Why?"

"I have no idea." Lydia sighed again before looking up, "He's just been ignoring me."

"You know what I think?"

"What?"

"I think, you should ignore him right back." Adelaide knew it would draw Jackson right back to her. He hated being ignored, he hated not getting any kind of attention specifically from Lydia. He was an attention whore that way. It was like he was always trying to impress someone. "Don't try to talk to him, don't try to make amends, you did nothing wrong. His ego is bruised, bruise it some more."

"You're right." Lydia nodded. Her serious, confused eyes changed to determined and superior. "I'm Lydia Martin. I _refuse _to apologize to Jackson for something he did to himself."_  
_

"Damn right."

"We are powerful, independent, women." Lydia continued.

"Amen, sister."

Lydia turned to Adelaide so quickly and suddenly, Adelaide reeled back. She had this different look of determination. One she'd always had when she was ready to interrogate someone, specifically Adelaide, and she slowly became weary as the look only intensified. Lydia was a tiger and Adelaide was her prey.

She knew, she could feel it in her damn bones. Lydia was going to ask her something about New York, or at least something that happened before she left to New York, and Adelaide was terrified. She didn't want to talk about it, think about it, hell, she didn't want to think about _anything _that had to do with emotional pain.

"So, Adelaide, anything interesting happen in New York?"

There it was.

Adelaide closed her eyes tightly and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Plenty of interesting things happened in New York, Lyds, it is, after all, New York."

"Adelaide" Lydia's sharp tone went ignored.

"Hey, are you hungry? I'm hungry. I'll order some take out." Adelaide took her phone out and was just starting to dial when Lydia's hand shot out to grab her wrist.

"Adelaide." her voice was softer. It was gentle and weary, like she was trying to approach the pacing panther.

"What? I don't want to talk about New York, or anything before New York, Lydia. I want to hang out with my sister without having to feel cornered, is that okay with you?" Her voice was the opposite of gentle, it was almost angry, but on the inside she was terrified. She could feel her heartstrings pull and her breathing quicken, her hands were sweaty and she was fidgeting.

For a second, Lydia looked hurt, but it was enough to make Adelaide feel like the worst sister in the world. Her heartbeat regulated, her hands stopped twitching and she looked down at her sister with guilt. "Look, I'll talk about everything some other time, okay? But right now I just want to talk to you about normal stuff."

Lydia accepted her answer and they ordered some Calamari Crunch sushi rolls along with California Rolls and their usual 2 meat combo with chow mein and steamed rice. It was a lot of food, but they were hungry, especially Adelaide.

After a while of talking about the latest gossip and finally getting their food, Adelaide brought up Alex.

She dipped the sushi roll in soy sauce after taking a sip of her Arizona Iced Tea, "I know he's going to get into the team"

"Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised, Alex is almost better than Jackson."

"No. He _is _better than Jackson."

Lydia rolled her eyes and simply hummed in response.

Adelaide was almost done with the BBQ pork when an idea lit up her features. A mischievous smirk appeared on her face and her eyes twinkled.

"Hey Lydia?"

Lydia recognized that tone all too well. It was the same one that had gotten her and Alex into trouble many, _many _times. She glanced at Adelaide suspiciously. "No. No no no no no no. Whatever it is you have planned? No. Do I need to remind you how many timed you have gotten us into trouble? Because I lost count."

"It's not bad!" Adelaide protested before pushing her food away and getting on her knees. "Just hear me out, yeah?" She pulled out one of her most useful weapons.

The Pout.

"No." Adelaide widened were sparking baby blues. "No." Lydia's gaze wavered. "I-" Adelaide's lip quivered, and Lydia groaned. "Fine."

"Okay, so I noticed something today. Something I should have noticed a long ass time ago." Lydia raised an eyebrow in question.

"Well, are you going to tell me what it is?"

"Alex and Danny."

Adelaide was honestly excited for their soon to be little project. Alex and Danny? They would be absolutely beautiful. They were so right for each other, it was meant to be. She just _knew _Lydia would join in on her idea, hell maybe even Jackson.

Lydia's own green eyes were wide with realization and excitement. She clapped her hands and stood on her knees along with her sister. "How could I have not pieced this together?"

She and Adelaide looked at each other with identical smirks and the dogs looked at them both curiously.

"What's the plan?" Lydia asked as they sat back down.

"We'll hang out with _both _of them at the same time, deliberately have them sit next to each other during lunch, anything we can to get them together." Adelaide counted off determinedly. Alex deserved to be happy, and so did Danny. They were meant for each other. They both loved teasing Adelaide about stupid shit, they liked the same music, they _looooved_ parties, even though they weren't actually that wild. They just liked dancing. Specifically Danny, who helped Adelaide with her dance routine when they were in Middle School.

She was proud to say she won 1st Place.

"We'll start tomorrow." Lydia grinned.

They finished eating and got ready for bed. Lydia and Adelaide decided they'd sleep together, seeing as she was too lazy to go back to her own bed, and she was already dressed. They nuzzled themselves into the mattress and sighed in content. Out of all the beds in the house, Adelaide's was probably the most comfortable.

Lydia wore a small smile on her face as she and Adelaide reminisced about the times when they were much younger.

"I miss this." Lydia whispered in the darkness. "We used to do this everyday when we were kids. Remember?"

"Yeah." Adelaide replied softly, "-and one of us would somehow end up on the floor." She chuckled softly. Her eyes shinning at the memory.

"That's because we always kicked each other in our sleep." Lydia yawned loudly before closing her eyes. "I love you, Ads."

Before she knew it, Lydia was fast asleep, and Adelaide was barely awake. She reached over and planted a kiss on her sister's forehead. Lydia meant the world to her. Whenever they were around each other, it was like they were...complete. Ever since they were babies.

She closed her eyes as exhaustion slowly overtook her and whispered to her twin.

"I love you too, Lyds."

* * *

Turned out, the morning wasn't so different than when they were younger. Lydia had some how ended up in a heap on the floor and Adelaide was sleeping soundlessly. Until Lydia hit her repeatedly with a pillow.

Lydia made sure Adelaide was well dressed, but didn't go completely over the top. In the end, she handed Adelaide some clothes and Adelaide went to get ready with a roll of her eyes.

Soon enough, they went to school in Lydia's car and the rest of the day breezed by.

Adelaide noticed she had many of her classes with Stiles and some with his little friend Scott. She and Alex spoke in Economics, a class in which Danny was also in. They all sat in the same vicinity, and she noticed how distracted they seemed by one another and she let a secretive smirk onto her lips.

The week rushed by, people buzzing with excitement because of the party Lydia and Adelaide were throwing.

Adelaide called Josh, her 'hook up' and made sure to get every thing they needed for the party.

Lydia made sure Jackson and Danny would bring Alex and Jason to help with heavy lifting. Which was a lot. Adelaide made sure drinks, snacks, and everything was in order. She and Lydia cleaned, set up the lantern lights above their pool, put lights around their yard, which was huge, took out tables and chairs, and made sure nothing breakable was in sight. By the time they were done it was nearing 3 o'clock.

Adelaide's hair was up in a messy bun and she was in some shorts and a tank top. She was setting up the speakers and making sure the right music would play when the doorbell rang. The dogs barked loudly, or in Ava's case, yipped. She was still too young for her bark to be very powerful, but it was cute.

"That must be the guys," she heard Lydia mutter as she moved some of the decorations she placed around their yard. "Let them in, please?"

Adelaide walked into the house and opened the door to let the guys in. Alex, Jackson, Danny, and Jason walked in with fashionable attire.

"Alright, you guys are gonna lift the speakers onto the stage we have set up outside. When I say move it, move it, capiche?"

The guys all nodded in agreement. Alex, Jackson, and Danny knew how she got when she was in organizing mode, so he was used to it. Jason? Not so much. He was a little scared.

Lydia came out in an outfit almost identical to Adelaide's only her hair was down. "I'm going to put the dogs in the guest room, and Adelaide is going to lock the rooms. You guys are to touch absolutely nothing but the speakers and cables, got it?" She raised a threatening eyebrow and they all nodded. "Good."

Adelaide went up to lock the doors of the rooms and soon after, the upstairs bathrooms. The only ones she left open were her own and Lydia's. They'd be locked after they got ready. There were gonna be many drunk teenagers making bad decisions, she didn't want them to make them in their bedrooms. She walked back downstairs and was pleased to see the boys ready for her to tell her where to put the speakers.

"Alright, follow me."

After ordering the guys around and finishing up some last touches, the house was completely fool proof and beautifully decorated.

"You guys can relax now, there're some snacks in the kitchen, Lydia and I will be getting ready upstairs. Alex," Adelaide addressed, "-Josh will be coming in about 30 minutes, I need you to make sure everything is set up and safe, okay?"

"Got it."

"Good."

Adelaide and Lydia went on to get ready. Their outfits were laid out on their beds and when they finished showering, they put some make up on.

"I'm kinda surprised you chose that outfit yourself." Lydia exclaimed as Adelaide fixed her hair.

"Why's that?" Adelaide asked through the bobby pins in her mouth. She took them out and pinned them into Lydia's hair. She was proud of what came out of it. Adelaide was great with hair.

"Because you have no style."

Adelaide snorted in an unladylike manner before carefully applying her signature blood red lipstick on.

"So what? You think I can't put together a simple dress and heals because you _think _I have no style?" She popped her lips and stepped back to praise her work.

She hadn't put on any concealer or foundation, and she wouldn't let her sister. She just settled for a smokey eye that made her eyes pop out more than usual, and her lipstick. Her skin already had a natural glow. Her hair was her favorite. She had a dutch braid on the crown of her head, acting as a sort of head band as the rest of her hair cascaded down her back. Even in its natural curls it reached passed her hips. She liked her hair long.

"You look nice." Lydia complimented as her sister looked into the mirror.

"Thanks, so do you." Adelaide gave her a soft smile and went into her bedroom to change. She stepped into the deep, dark red skater dress she'd picked out. It had cutouts at the shoulders and all the way down her back until it reached right above her hips. It poofed out a little bit then. She slipped her lace up bootie heals and finished with some black accessories just in time.

She walked out of her bedroom and made sure everything was locked at the same time her sister came out of her own. People had already arrived, and when they descended the stairs like princesses, everyone clapped.

Adelaide's eyes scanned the crowed, and she spotted Alex chatting with Danny. Allison was there with Scott, and she even saw Stiles.

Music was blasting through the speakers. Teenagers were everywhere, drinking from their cliche red solo cups and grinding up on each other. She maneuvered her way around the sweaty bodies until she got to the drink station.

People were already jumping into the pool with their clothes on.

Before she knew it, she already had a couple drinks and someone asked her to dance. He had a tribal tattoo running down his arm, and he looked oddly familiar, but she ignored it.

**-WOAH WOAH WOAH THIS IS IT GUYS- (i really recommend not skipping through it all bc there is important stuff in there guys. ;)**

**And that was how it started; they danced. They danced to the beat of the music, until sweat started forming at the base of Adelaide's neck. She moved expertly and gracefully with...she didn't even know his name. A calm was settling over her mind, more like a daze, really. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and his hands were on her hips, slowly pulling her closer.

Their eyes met, blue and speckled green. His eyes darkened with lust and hers glowed brighter. They moved closer. Their legs entwining and chests touching. They were flush against each other, teasing.

"You're pretty good at this." His cheeks were flushed, his pupils dilated and his voice was husky. His big hands gripped her hips tightly as he tried, and failed,

"I know." she replied, breathless. Whenever they spoke, their lips brushed against each other the slightest bit. She bit her lip in anticipation as she looked up at him through hooded eyes. The alcohol in her bloodstream working quickly as his breath fanned itself across her lips. Mint and alcohol.

Her tongue darted out to lick her lips and she could _taste _him. She didn't know what she was doing, but she needed something, anything to distract herself, and this would definitely do.

He leaned in closer until their foreheads touched. They still held eye contact, until he stepped up. It was like this pressure was building inside of her, waiting to be released. So when his lips finally connected with hers, she stumbled back into the wall, bringing him with her.

And then they were a frenzy of touching, kissing and licking.

He sucked on her bottom lip and she sighed in pleasure. Her hands traveled down his chest, and she let the roam to his back to pull him closer. His tongue pried her lips open and touched her own. Her nails scrapped against his clothed back. Their tongues battled for dominance, tasted each other, and his hands lowered to the hem of her dress.

She took his hand and brought back up to her waist while they still kissed. She sucked his lip into her mouth and opened her eyes before shaking her head with a small smirk on her face. His eyes were almost black with lust and he nodded before attaching his mouth to her neck.

She threw her head back and sighed in pleasure as his tongue ran along the spot that made her knees weak. He peppered kisses along the base of her throat, and licked. It was like a pattern. She opened her eyes, making eye contact with someone else. Stiles. He looked away immediately and she shook it off.

The guy, whose name she still didn't know, brought his lips back to her own, and once again tried to shift his hand under her dress. But it was different. It was rougher. She grabbed at his hand and pulled back. "I said no." she panted.

"Why?" he asked in a husky voice. He pressed her harder into the wall to the point where it actually hurt.

"Because I said so." she pushed him back.

"I don't care." He had her hips in a bruising grip, and her eyes widened in surprise, until she realized what was happening. He was trying to _force her._

She moved her hands to push him off again but he took her wrists and pinned them to the wall. He ground himself into her and she felt _him. _

And then she got angry.

An inexplicable rage settle over her, dark and dangerous. She was shaking with the rage held in her body and when she locked eyes once again with Stiles, he looked at her like she was a damsel that needed help, and he was coming to her rescue.

She didn't.

She didn't think, she just acted.

Her eyes were dark and glaring.

Her knee slammed up until it connected with his most sensitive are. He tensed, his grip on her loosening and his knees wobbling. A sob tore its way out of his throat, but she didn't care. She stomped down on his foot with her sharp heal and he fell to his knees.

The music stopped, and people were looking her way. And everyone gasped at what she did next because it was unexpected, so different from what others would do. Some even clapped.

She backhanded him across the face and lent down to look into his eyes. Her angry ones met his pained ones and a vicious snarl ripped out of her throat as she looked into his pained, angry and embarrassed eyes.

"When a lady says no, she means _no."_

* * *

**So you got to see Addy's badassness, and trust me, there's more where that came from (; I hope you guys enjoyed it! Please leave a review, I would really like to know what you guys think of it. Your guys' thoughts on what you thought of it are really important to me. It helps me determine what I do and don't need to fix. PM me if you'd like, I would love talking to you guys, and if you have any questions, I'll answer them. **

**BY THE WAYYYYY, Adelaide wasn't gonna have sex with him or anything, she was just a little tipsy and he was hot and had a tattoo and and she wanted to share a lil som'n som'n wit him, ja feel? until he tried to do the do w/o her permission, then she kicked his assssssssss**

**xoxo Brii(;**


	7. Hot Days and Red Hoodies

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed, I am soo thankful for it :D Hence the thank you, i guess haha. **

**Guests, I love you, really, you're amazing, and i really wish i could PM you and talk to you guys, but I can't D: Unfortunately. Sorry I took long, I seem to be saying that a lot lately, huh? Sorry again, and again, but I got a little distracted. ooops? A huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge thanks to Monkeygonetoheaven (with periods between each word, btw, haha) she helped a looooot in this chapter, like a lot, and you guys should go read her amazing Stiles/OC fic Rewritten: Welcome Home Nikita Grace, it's amazing, I promise, your minds will be blown.**

**This is kind of a filler, sorry D: but i really hope you like it**

**Outfits are on Polyvore if you're interested, and the link is on my profile c;**

**Chapter 7**

**Midnight City by M83**

Adelaide woke up a little late. Her disheveled strawberry blonde locks strewn around her pillows, her dress bunched up to her thighs and her jewelry digging into her skin. All in all she felt like shit.

She groaned before standing up and taking out some clothes for the day. Ava lay in her own little bed, snoring lightly with her head tucked under her paws.

She showered, slipped into her most comfortable clothes, called the cleaners, and as soon as they came and did their job, she put a bagel in the toaster and enjoyed the silence while Lydia and Jackson slept of their hangovers.

Alex came over a few minutes after, rambling on about the incident the night before, claiming he would have killed the guy had it not been for Danny, who after landing a punch himself, had to hold a rage-filled Alex back. He asked if she was alright and she claimed she was fine, like always.

"I think Lydia's still sleeping." Adelaide exclaimed as an idea popped into her head. Hangovers were the worst, she knew from experience, but she was bored and she felt like annoying Adelaide. "Let's wake her."

Alex soon caught on when he saw the smirk on her face, and he too gave a mischievous grin. "Let's."

Adelaide and Alex walked down the hall and into Lydia's room. A half naked Jackson was lying on the bed with one arm over Lydia and the other hanging off the bed. His mouth was open and boisterous snores erupted from his mouth with each breath. Lydia's make up was smeared, her hair was a mess, and she was cuddling Jackson to her. Adelaide chuckled at the drool making its way down her chin. It was one of those very rare moments where Lydia didn't look like a Disney princess.

She heard the sound of a picture being taken and saw Alex with his phone out. How could she not have thought of that? "You're a genius." she whispered with a grin. He winked back and watched as she worked her magic.

"Good morning Starshine," Adelaide opened the curtains and let the bright rays of the sun spill into the dark room. Even she got a bit of a headache from it, but whatever. "-the Earth says hello!"

She heard groans of protest from the bed. "Adelaaaaideeeeeee." Lydia whined loudly.

"Nooooooo" Jackson groaned.

"Yeeeees." she replied. She walked over to them and, despite knowing Lydia _might _be indecent, ripped the covers from her. "Get up loser, we're going shopping." Thankfully, she was clothed. Fully. It looked sorta uncomfortable, though. Sleeping with a dress like that on?

Ew.

"Adelaide!" Jackson whined. He actually _whined. _Jackson Whittemore in his natural element, ladies and gentlemen.

"It's 1 in the afternoon, get your hungover asses up and into the sun, right this instant. If you're not up and ready in 45 minutes, I'll make your lives a living hell for the next couple of hours." She gave them a mock bright smile. "Chop chop."

"I hate your sister." she heard Jackson mutter.

"Me too." Lydia agreed.

"So what are we going to do, really?" Alex asked with a grin of his own. "I mean, even Lydia won't want to shop today."

"We're going to go to the grocery store and buy all the junk food we want, invite Allison, who will probably want to bring Scott, and hang around the pool and stuff. Probably order some pizza."

They walked down the stairs as Adelaide explained, sitting on a couch as soon as they got into the living room.

"I don't know if Ally would want to bring Scott." Alex started, "He sorta left her alone at the party...without warning."

Allison perked up at the news and looked at Alex with disbelieving eyes. "Scott? Scott left Allison? Scott?" Scott seemed so...sweet. He was also kind of a loser, why would he leave someone like Allison? She was 5 feet and 9 inches of beauty.

"Yeah, I know. I couldn't believe it either." He shook his head and took his phone. "I'll just call her now."

He dialed her number and put it on speaker. She answered on the third ring.

_"Hey, what's up?" _

"Ads and I were wondering if you wanted to come over. We're gonna hang out at the pool and get some food."

_"Uh, yeah, sure..." _she hesitated for a second, _"Can I bring Scott?" _

"Scott? I mean...I thought he-"

_"I-I'll explain later, okay?" _

"O-kaaay..." Alex's brows furrowed before saying goodbye and ending the call.

"He probably went to her house and apologized or something." Adelaide said.

Footsteps were heard coming down the spiral staircase and Jackson and Lydia walked out wearing identical scowls on their faces.

"What do you want?"

"Hello to you too, oh me? I'm great, and how are you?" Adelaide responded to Jackson. She stood and walked to get her keys from the hook by the door. Everyone was still just standing there, watching her like a hawk. "Well? Are you guys coming?" She pulled some sunglasses from the coat closet and walked out and into her car. She was wearing some denim shorts and a blue slub jersey top she got from H&amp;M. Her bikini was underneath her clothes and she was all set for the day.

Soon enough they were in the car, driving to Target. They were all quiet, only listening to one of Adelaide mixes play loudly with the windows down. The hot sun was right in their faces, but the fresh breeze felt amazing against their skin, and no one dared complain about Adelaide's music choice.

"You should just tell Allison to meet us here." Adelaide said as she turned into the parking lot. For a Saturday, it wasn't as packed as one would expect it to be. Few cars littered the parking lot and even less people were walking into the store.

"Alright." Alex got out and stretched before calling her and following Adelaide into the store along with Jackson and Lydia. He was on the phone for a few minutes when he went up to Adelaide and asked, "Can Stiles come to?"

"Sure" Adelaide had no problem with Stiles...or well, maybe she did. It was a mutual thing actually. They just didn't seem to get along very well.

"Sure? What, is McCall coming too?" Jackson scoffed and shook his head. It was obvious to Adelaide and pretty much everyone else how much Jackson didn't like the pair. Scott was the officially the best player on the team, and Stiles was his hyperactive, annoying best friend. "Why would you invite those two nimrods?"

Adelaide stopped in the middle of the store, and turned to Jackson with a small glare. "Don't cause a scene and stop complaining, Jackass." Jackson stood back and glared at her. Adelaide went back to looking for junk food and things she liked to keep at the house while Jackson stood back with a scowl on his face, and Lydia trying to make him happier. God, he was such a little brat.

"She'll be here in a few minutes, the guys are coming with her." Alex slung an arm over Adelaide's shoulder as she pushed the cart further into the store.

"Alright." She picked 2 bags of cheetos and some Nutella "Do you think Nutella and Cheetos would make a good combination?" Alex laughed and plucked the Nutella out of her hands.

"Doesn't hurt to try."

"Hmm." She put them both into the cart and put some other junk foods in.

15 minutes later, the cart was filled with junk food, drinks, and some pool toys Adelaide found.

"Hey, guys!" Adelaide turned around to see Allison coming up to them, slightly out of breath, with Stiles and Scott trailing behind.

"Adelaide, we don't need this much food." Lydia exclaimed when she saw how much there was. Ice Cream, Cheetos, Nachos and Nacho cheese, and a bunch of other things.

Alex and Adelaide scoffed before looking at Lydia with identical looks of 'are-you-serious-right-now?' "I do."

Adelaide _loved _food. She ate a lot, but she was in 2 sports, ran 7 miles a day, danced, was in various forms of MA and she had a very fast metabolism that she loved taking advantage of. She took her daily vitamins, of course, and did all that other healthy shit, but she couldn't sustain herself on salads and fish forever.

"Oh, hey cheetos and Nutella." Stiles exclaimed before stepping forward and grabbing the two. "They're actually a pretty good combination..." he looked up and trailed off when he noticed everyone looking at him. He put them back down in their place.

"That sounds incredibly disgusting." Lydia screwed up her face in disgust and tugged Jackson closer to her.

"It's actually pretty good" Scott piped in with a puppy dog grin, making Allison giggle.

Adelaide heard Allison let out a small chuckle of her own and she noticed her grab Scott's hand. She noticed the way the corners of Scott's lips lifted, or the way Allison looked down at their hands with joy and admiration. Adelaide just knew they would last.

Stiles caught her eye and she saw something shift in him as soon as he saw her. It was like he was debating something. Ultimately, something won out because he looked determined. And then he was heading towards her until he stopped right before her.

Adelaide's brows furrowed as she caught the suggestive waggle of Alex's eyebrows as he ushered everyone to the long line. Adelaide turned back to Stiles with a questioning lift of her brow. She was under the impression Stiles _didn't _like her, therefore didn't want to _talk _to her.

Suddenly, he didn't look so determined.

"Uh-I..." he scratched the back of his neck in thought, "I just-I wanted to know if you were...okay?"

"Okay?" Adelaide repeated. Why was he asking her this?

"Yeah...-I mean, after last night..." he trailed off, and the memory came back to her. He was there. How could she forget?

_She was standing there, watching as the pervert sobbed in pain, pain she inflicted on him. And all she could think was;_ good, he deserved it._ Other's watched in disbelief that a girl as small as Adelaide Martin just brought down a guy twice her size. _

_She blew a strand of strawberry blonde hair off her face and placed her hands on her hips. Other than the sound of her heals tapping the marble tiles the room was silent, the awkward crowd would only stare at her in shock, it was annoying. "What?" She snapped, "Never seen a girl kick ass?" They all recoiled and went back to the party. "That's what I thought." she whispered to herself as she pat down her dress.  
_

_Alex must have caught wind of what had happened, because he came barreling down the hall way with rage strewn across his face; Danny right behind him. Alex must have been seeing red as he stampeded towards the pervert like a drunken bull, accidently bumping into Adelaide with enough force to make her stumble backwards. She prepared herself with impact with the floor, but the floor never came. Instead a pair of hands caught her by the waist and helped her to her feet._

_She stood back up and turned to whoever it was. Stiles. Her eyes widened just a bit and her mind flashed back to when he looked like he was ready to beat the shit out of the guy himself. It was sort of sweet. _

_"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"_

_She put her hand up to stop him, "Are you seriously apologizing for keeping me on my feet?__" A grin tugged at the corner of her lips and she subconsciously swayed along with the music. She was still a little sweaty, and she had the smallest headache from all the commotion. _

_She was just a little tipsy, not drunk, but she'd drunk enough to have a bit of an effect. She chuckled a bit and he did too, albeit nervously, but it was something._

_"Are you-" Adelaide knew what he was going to ask him, and she didn't him to. She just wanted to relax, maybe go up to her bedroom and just read a bit, and forget about what had happened, like always. But he didn't get to finish his sentence, because one second he was there and the next…he wasn't._

"Yeah, I'm fine." She gave him one of her signature smirks. After she said those words a small crease appeared between his eyebrows, and he looked like he didn't believe her. And that irked her.

"Really? I mean...-I heard that when a girl says she's fine, she's really not-" he seemed to have realized what he said, and tried to reciprocate, "I-I mean...-I'm not trying to call you a liar, or anything, I'm just...-I-"

Instead of just letting the poor guy ramble on, she decided to be nice and stop him, "Where'd you hear that from?"

"Uh..-" he scratched the back of his neck and made an awkward face, "2 Broke Girls."

Adelaide barked out a loud laugh before she covered her mouth and chuckled. "Well,-" she started after her little laughing fest, "I'm fine."

"Right. Yeah, uh, okay." He left it at that, and they met everyone else in the ridiculously long line.

* * *

They got to the house, and the guys took out the groceries while the girls went to the backyard to get ready for the pool party...or hang out. Allison was explaining just what happened, and Adelaide was hanging onto every word. It was just too cute.

"So, last night, Scott sorta ditched me, well, he said he got some sort of attack. Anyways I was a little bitter after, but the next morning he came over and apologized." A dimpled smile overtook her face as she recalled what happened, "He brought flowers, and he asked for my forgiveness, and-it was just so sweet of him. He even took me out for breakfast." Her eyes were bright with happiness, and Adelaide had to admit, it was sweet.

"Who know Scott McCall had game" Adelaide teased as she slipped off her sandals and laid back on the lounge chair. "Maybe next time he'll step it up a notch." She winked at Allison, and she clearly got the message.

"Shut up." Allison muttered with a deep blush on her face. "We just got together."

Adelaide was slowly warming up to the brunette. She got good vibes from her, and Lydia just loved her, so that was a plus. _  
_

"You never know." Lydia said in a sing-song voice from the other chair. She'd been awfully quiet, most likely because of the splitting headache she most likely had. Or maybe she was just relaxing. "Anything could happen."

Allison groaned and covered her face with her hands. "You guys are the worst." She looked at their positions on their chairs, and decided to take a seat of her own. "So are we actually going to go into the pool? Because I didn't really get a bathing suit..."

"Oh, sweetheart, don't you worry. I've got you covered." Lydia smirked at the terrified brunette. "Come with me."

It was a hot day, as it usually was in Southern California, but it was a dry heat, thank god. She didn't think she could handle anymore humidity. It was horrible. Her hair got all poofy, dry and just…disgusting on so many levels.

She heard the sliding door open and voices getting closer to the table.

"You should just dump him." she heard Alex say. "If he's constantly putting you down, and just flat out ignoring you, just finish it. He's a dick, and you deserve so much better."

"I know, I know, but...I don't know. It's just so complicated, you know?" Danny's conflicted voice sounded next, "I want to break up with him, but right when I'm about to do it, he does something sweet and I start to feel bad. It's frustrating."

"What's frustrating?" Adelaide asked from her seat. Her shades were down, blocking her view of the sun.

"Guys that are always angry and bitter, but do something sweet just when you're about to break up with them." Danny replied. He set some stuff down and walked to the lounge chair and sat near her, Alex doing the same.

She slid up the chair and slipped her glasses atop her head, "Do you like him?" Adelaide asked.

Danny replied without hesitation "No."

"Then break up with him." Adelaide replied easily, "Obviously he doesn't make you happy. Call him, text him, meet up with him, something, and tell him it's not working out and you're done."

"You make it sound so simple." Danny threw a hand over his eyes in frustration.

"That's because it is." Alex piped in. "Break up with him. Trust me, it'll make you feel a lot better."

"You think so?" Danny peaked at him from behind his arm and asked uncertainly. Adelaide watched in mild giddiness as Alex smiled and replied confidently.

"Yes."

They were smiling at each other, and Adelaide seriously wanted to _squeal _in excitement, something she never _ever _did. She knew it would take some time, but with the way they were looking at each other, it was slowly manifesting. She just knew it.

Then Jackson strolled out, completely ruining the moment with his stupid mouth.

"This is boring." his monotone voice called out. "And where is the music?"

Adelaide groaned and threw her head back against the seat in annoyance. "God, Jackson, don't you _ever _stop complaining? I swear that's all you ever do."

He merely rolled his eyes while Danny and Alex chuckled.

Adelaide got up and walked passed Jackson, "I'll go get my speakers." she exclaimed as she entered the house. The dogs were yipping in excitement, crowding Scott and Stiles, not that they minded. They were smiling and cooing at the dogs, ruffling their ears and rubbing their bellies. Ava and Prada loved the attention, especially Ava.

Ava was the jealous type, that was for sure, so whenever Prada was given more attention, she would yip at the person until they paid attention to her.

"I see you guys having fun." The smirk was heard in her voice, and the boys jumped up with startled looks on their faces.

"Uh-"

"We were just...-"

"Wow, you guys are really easy to wind up." Adelaide shook her head and walked into the living room to get her speakers. "You should come outside, unless you guys just wanna be alone together." She looked back at them with a small wink, "Then that's totally fine, too."

Stiles merely rolled his eyes and made a face, while Scott seemed to get a little more flustered by it.

Suddenly, Lydia's voice echoed throughout the house.

"Oh my god, Allison, you look totally _hot_!" Allison must have rejected the idea of wearing whatever it is her lovely sister roped her into wearing, because Lydia replied determinedly, "No, you're wearing it. Grab your towel, and let's go."

"Welp, that's our signal. Out you go." Adelaide ushered the guys out, as well as the dogs, and connected the speakers to her phone.

The girls walked out, and while Alex and Danny whistled in playful manners, Jackson remained unphased, well not really, he was eyeing Lydia like no other, but Scott and Stiles were gawking.

"Close your mouths, flies are in this season." Adelaide teased from her spot near the speakers. She chose a song and sighed happily at the beginnings of _Stop The World, I Wanna Get Off With You_ by _Arctic Monkeys._

"Finally" Jackson groaned, and Danny smacked the back of his head and gave him a look that said 'behave'. He merely rolled his eyes and took his shirt off, along with Alex and Danny.

Scott and Stiles, remained where they were, standing a little awkwardly and talking amongst themselves. Adelaide knew they must have felt a little uncomfortable. They were new to the group, they didn't really know each other, it was understandable.

Adelaide nudged Alex and nodded her head towards them, Alex sighed and understood. He walked over to them and no doubt gave them an encouraging speech to get off their asses and start socializing. He took them into the house to give them something to change into. Seeing as he always left his swimming trunks there, she had some in her dresser.

Soon, Adelaide got tired of just standing there and not really doing anything, so she turned up the music and took over her clothes to reveal her bikini. The top was strapless and white with cute little navy colored flowers scattered over it, and her bottoms were a plain navy. She didn't care that her scar was showing, not really anyway. It was something she'd gotten used to and learn to accept over time. Sort of.

She sat in a lounging chair next to the girls, who were speaking animatedly about a girl none of the girls liked in school; Arianne Walker. And that was how Adelaide was roped into talking about the most recent gossip of Beacon Hills High.

When the boys came out again, Adelaide was surprised to find that they weren't as scrawny as they looked. Their baggy clothes and thick sweatshirts hid their toned bodies. Scott was, surprisingly, muscular. Years of Lacrosse clearly did them good.

They shuffle quietly and awkwardly sat on the chairs next to Adelaide with Ava following; she'd taken quite the liking towards them.

"You know what's weird?" Adelaide asked suddenly, making Stiles jump at the abrupt sound of her voice and Scott to look at her questioningly.

"W-what?" Stiles choked out as he recovered. He looked down at Adelaide, and suddenly noticed her clothing choice, or rather lack of it. His eyes roamed over her body and he had a slack jawed expression on his face until he noticed the scar on her abdomen Scott elbowed him roughly and snapped him out of it.

"That you guys are sitting by me when you could be sitting by the person in this place you actually like and know; Allison." She looked at them curiously. "Why is that?"

Scott smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, "There's only one seat by Allison."

"Then take it." Adelaide exclaimed with a look on her face that said 'it's-just-that-simple'. "Trust me, you don't want to miss the opportunity to see her in that black bikini my sister forced her to wear, it's a once in a life time chance."

"Dude" Stiles whispered urgently as Scott finally stood up with his mind set on Allison, "You-You can't just _leave _me here..." he glanced back at Adelaide with hesitance etched onto his features, "-with _her._" he whispered. Scott gave him an apologetic glance, "What happened to the bro code, man?" Scott just walked off, back to Allison.

Stiles rubbed a hand over his face as Adelaide sipped on her lemonade calmly. The tension was thick, and the awkwardness was making Stiles more fidgety than normal.

"So.." he started, but before he could finished Adelaide interrupted him by grabbing his wrist tightly and staring at him with her startlingly bright eyes. "Oh God."

"Listen, I know that maybe you just helped me out yesterday because you like my sister, hell maybe you've even tricked yourself into thinking you _love _her, but let's get one thing straight, okay?" She leaned closer and nearly smirked when she saw his eyes widen further and his adam's apple bobbed, "You will tell no one, got it? You didn't see me and that guy dancing, you didn't see us making out, and you didn't see him try to shove his hands up my skirt. People were way to drunk to remember, or to even notice. All you saw was some guy getting his ass kicked by me, nothing more. Understood?" _  
_

His amber eyes scanned her face as she leaned closer to him with expectant eyes. They were nearly chest to chest, their body heat combined and the intimidation he felt from her made him break out into a sweat. His heartbeat was erratic as he answered.

"Understood."

* * *

Later, they were all by the pool, it was about 4pm, and it was still blazing hot. They had eaten plenty: pizza, chips, nutella, and everything else she'd bought. Stiles and Scott had loosened up considerably and were freely talking to everyone. Sure, they were a bit awkward, but it was a definite improvement.

Alex and Danny were standing right on the edge of the pool and Adelaide was watching with mischief in her eyes. There was no way she was going to miss this _wonderful _opportunity.

"What are you up too?" Lydia asked as soon as she saw the look on her sister's face. It was a look she knew all too well.

"You'll see."

Adelaide knew the water would be a little cold, but she didn't mind. It would feel amazing, so she braced herself for the impact, and let a war cry (which was sorta shrill, honestly) and charged towards Alex like a bull while everyone else watched with surprise and laughter etched on their features.

"Oh shit!" Alex exclaimed before they were fully emerged into the water.

She got over the shock of cold water pretty quickly. Her hair was all over the place, floating around her and Alex as they sunk into the 14ft pool. If she could have, she would have been laughing at the look on Alex's face. He was stunned, obviously. His eyes were no longer pinched closed, and his mouth was no longer in a surprised gasp.

Instead, his eyes opened under the water and a smirk replaced his once shocked features. He grabbed her waist and swam to the surface. He had the same mischievous glint in his eyes Adelaide had, and she knew he would retaliate. Which was why she planned on getting the hell away from him as soon as she could.

Everyone was laughing at the display before them. It was pretty ridiculous. Adelaide was swimming around the pool with Alex coming after her. They were like little kids, and it was hilarious.

Soon after, everyone else was in the pool, taking out the water guns and pointing them at each other.

"Stop!" Adelaide laughed as everyone sprayed her with their water guns. The dogs were barking as she shrieked and laughed.

"Never!" Alex replied before lurching forward, getting out of the pool, and throwing her over his shoulder.

Her hair was dripping onto the cement, and soon enough, the grass. She had a small wedgie, but it was nothing compared to the one she would give Alex if he didn't put her down. "Put me down!" Her laughs betrayed her as he purposely bounced her on his shoulder. He was just running around with the dogs chasing them. They were barking happily and she wanted to glare at them for not helping. Their owner was being threatened, and they were happy? Pfft.

"Put me down or else." Adelaide exclaimed as her head hit his lower back once again after one of his exaggerated bounces.

"Or else what?" Alex asked daringly, tauntingly. He gave another bounce as a way to taunt her further. Her laughter ceased and a smirk replaced her smile.

She expertly maneuvered herself so she was on his back and her arms were wound around his neck. She wasn't choking him, but her move surprised him, and it surprised him even more when she pushed him forward and he fell onto the ground face first while she landed on her feet.

"Ha, I win." she poked her tongue out childishly as everyone laughed at their antics.

"I hate you."

* * *

**It was darker and they had set up the bonfire pit by the pool. Music was playing softly in the background as everyone just relaxed after a whole day of fun in the pool. Lydia was upstairs doing god knows what and everyone else was talking with one another.

Adelaide was sitting against Alex's legs, wearing a large red hoodie she just so happened to see in the living room. Next to Adelaide were Scott, Allison, and Stiles. Scott and Allison were being all disgusting and cute couple-y, and Stiles was complaining about were all laughing at something Alex and Danny had been joking about, and Adelaide smiled as she looked between them.

The heat of the flames licked at their cold bodies deliciously, warm smiles on their faces as they laughed and joked around. Sitting around the fire, huddled together and acting like the 16 year old sophomores they really were. Adelaide's mind wasn't running 100 mph, Alex wasn't worrying about Adelaide, Scott and Stiles were poking fun at each other like the oddball best friends they were while Jackson and Lydia were cuddled up to each other and Danny and Alex spoke to each other with grinning faces.

"This is fun." Alex exclaimed as he sat his chin atop her head.

Adelaide pushed his head off and laughed lightly, "Your head is heavy."

He scoffed and ruffled her hair, "I'll have you know, my head happens to be the lightest, and most beautiful in this little group."

"Puhh-leeease, your head is nowhere near light, or beautiful."

"You're just jealous."

"Jealous of what? Your ugly head? _Okay._"

"You guys are like little kids." Danny commented with a shake of his head.

"She started it."

Adelaide let out a bark of laughter and leaned against Alex with bright eyes. For once, she was being a normal teenager. She brought the big red hoodie closer to her face and smiled. It smelled like curly fries and Old Spice, it was an odd combination but she found herself loving it.

Everything was perfect, until Lydia got a call and handed the phone to Adelaide with wide eyes with the phone in her hand. No one caught onto the look in her eyes, or the look she gave Adelaide as she passed the phone to her. Adelaide hadn't noticed until she _really _looked at her. It was the way her hands clutched onto the phone, and the way that her green eyes looked at her with worry that caught her attention. Her stance was tense and hesitant as she called to Adelaide.

"It's for you."

Lydia jerked her head towards the house and Adelaide took it as her cue to go in.

"I'll be right back" she whispered to Alex before getting up and following after Lydia. "Who is it?" She asked once they were inside. Lydia didn't answer, she only handed her the phone and headed outside. "Okaay." she whispered to herself before putting the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

_"Hey, sweetie."_

Her body tensed, her eyes widened before her lips curled back in distaste.

"What do _you _want?"

_"To say hello to my daughter, maybe?"_

"Pfft."

_"You know, you're going to have to get used to me. I'm coming back to Beacon Hills.."_

Her breathing stopped, this time for a full two seconds, and her heart climbs its way up to her throat. "Y-you're coming? Here? To Beacon Hills?"

Her hand tightened around the phone until her knuckles turned white._  
_

_"Yep, I'm coming back home to see my lovely family."_

"_Why?_" Adelaide clenched her jaw. There was something boiling just beneath her skin, anger, frustration, maybe something else, she didn't know. All she knew was that she didn't want her father, of all people, to come back to Beacon Hills and ruin everything.

_"Your mom invited me."_

"Well…we don't want your here" Her mother and her father, while they were civil around one another, hated each other. Why would her mother go out of her way to invite him, especially knowing what he's done in the past.

_"Well I want to be there, and that's all that matters. So I'll be coming in from New York in a few weeks."_

She could still remember the day he left, the day she asked her mom where her daddy was and she didn't reply, only stared into space.

"Suddenly you want to be here?"

_"I…-"_

"Great father you are, huh?"

She hung up before he could reply.

Her father was young, too young. He and Adelaide's mother were 16 when she got pregnant, and now they were 32 years old. Maybe that was why he was such an ass; because he never really grew up. Or maybe he did and never really cared. She didn't know which was worse.

She sighed loudly and sat on her couch with the phone still clutched tightly in her hand. Her father was obviously a sore subject. There was time when she loved her father more than anyone in the love for him was too the moon and back, at least that's what she said to him, and he always said it back, but he lied.

She didn't.

She was a daddy's girl trying to follow in her father's footsteps. He was the reason she was how she was. He raised her to be like _him_. Her twisted sense of humor, she inherited from him, her endless sarcasm, his, her piercing bright eyes, his, her sometimes cold demeanor...his. He shaped her into who she was, and sometimes, she didn't like it.

Back then, she loved him, she idolized him, he was her hero. But then he left. And all she had left was a crushed heart that turned bitter, and she did what he taught her to do. She turned her hurt, love, and devotion, into anger.

When she went to New York, she hardly ever saw him. He was either at work, with his little skanks, or doing whatever else he did. Adelaide, too, went to extreme lengths to ignore him. They'd only seen each other a few times. All of which were highly unpleasant, and consisted of stare downs and heavy banter.

And now he was coming back to Beacon Hills.

She held her head in her hands and stared blankly at the wood floor. Her phone had dropped to the floor as she fought a war with herself. They say your father is the first man to ever break your heart, and in some cases it was true, but she was so young. So fucking naive. And all of a sudden, when there was just a smudge of good in her life, he was coming back?

Her hands fisted and pulled her hair until she could feel the stinging sensations, hoping that pain would somehow take it away. The anger resurfaced and she felt her hands trembling. The anger clouded her judgement, she could feel her heart ramming into her ribs, hear her heavy breathing, and when she finally snapped, she grabbed the phone and threw it at the wall in a fit of rage.

She heard a yelp and caught sight of Stiles clutching onto the wall and covering his face. The phone was right by his feet, his eyed wide and shocked.

"Holy-" he cried out before looking at her in disbelief. "Wh-what the hell?!" He nearly continued, but he saw the look in her eye, one that he'd worn many times, but it was gone before he could read into it. Hell, maybe he even imagined it. "Hey, are you okay?

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." She took a deep breath and repeated, "I'm fine.

"You don't-you don't...look fine." Stiles exclaimed stupidly. He had no idea how to comfort people, in fact, he never knew what to do. Adelaide Martin wasn't a person he wanted to comfort, he didn't like her all that much, and he knew she didn't like him either, but something made him ask.

"And how do I look, Stiles?"

"Uhhh like you're going to punch me in the balls"

"Well I'm not, but if you keep talking, I might just consider it."

And she was back. She walked to the phone and squat down to pick it up.

Adelaide tried to stuff the batteries back in the phone but they kept popping out, her frustration grew more and more as she forced them back in. Stiles bent over and took the batteries out of her hand.

"Please don't, I can tell you from experience it feels like someone stabbing your ovaries."

With gentle hands he pushed in the batteries back in place and handed them to her. His hand touched hers for just a second before he stuffed them into his pockets.

"So you're saying you have balls and ovaries?" she looked back up at him and bit her lip to keep from laughing at the light blush that coated his cheeks. "This sounds like a conversation you have with your father...not me."

He rolled his eyes, ignoring her savage commentary "Speaking of conversations you have with your father...you always throw your phone at the wall when you talk to him?"

Her eyes widened "You were listening? Seriously?!" she glared at him fiercely.

He threw his hands up in surrender "I came looking for you and heard the last few seconds of the conversation, I swear!"

She was too upset to verbally abuse him "And what do you want from me Stiles? Look I'm sure you're nice and charming, well maybe not charming." His eye twitched in annoyance "And I've seen the way you look at Lydia, but you're not her type, not even close to her type, I mean to be honest, you'd have better luck seducing my dog than-"

Stiles cleared his throat "I came looking for you because you're wearing my sweater..."

Adelaide looked down at the hoodie, and she let a sheepish smile cross her face.

"Oh."

She suddenly felt like the biggest idiot in the world. Embarrassment crawled up her neck and she hoped to god she wasn't red because Adelaide Martin _never _blushed. So despite how comfortable the hoodie was, and how amazing it smelled…not something she was proud of, she took it off and let the cold take cold of her as she stood with only her bikini and shorts.

Stiles didn't make a move to take it from her and she didn't make a move to give it to him. They just stood there, awkwardly until Stiles started talking.

"You know...you should be nicer to your dad."

She pursed her lips and crossed her arms. Who was he to tell her to be nice to her father? "It's none of your business." she snapped harshly before setting the phone down, "You don't know anything."

Stiles bit his lip and stepped back. "You're right, I-sorry."

Guilt for snapping at him made her eyes soften and her eyebrows furrowed as the unfamiliar emotion coursed through her.

He turned to leave but she caught his wrist, pulling away immediately when he looked down at their touching skin in confusion.

She looked into his hazel eyes and held out his sweater.

"Your hoody…"

He nodded and took it in his hands. He looked down at her shivering, half naked form and he suddenly had the urge to put the hoody back around her, but he didn't.

Instead, he gave a tight lipped smile and left.

* * *

**So theree was some...we need a ship name, Staddy? Stadeliade? idk, you guys decide :D AND SOME ADELAIDE AND HER DAD! WooHooo! I really hope you guys liked this chapter c; this one is, by far, the longest i've written, and idk do you guys like long chapters? If not, I'm sorry D: ****Okay, so a lot of writers have tumblrs dedicated to their fic, and being the tumblr addict I am, thought that was a preeetty good idea. How about you guys tell me, yeah? Do you guys want me to make a tumblr for this fic, or no? Leave a review, tell me what you think, of the idea, of the fic, of this chapter :D You can PM me if you'd like, I would lovee to talk to you guys. **

**I can't wait to see what you guys thought of this chapter :D **

**xoxo Brii(:**


	8. Big Fat F

**Chapter 8**

**Never Going Home (Alt-J Remix) - Phantogram**

Adelaide was sleeping soundly. Her hair was fanned across the pillows, her eyes were closed, and there was the smallest bit of drool coming from her mouth. She wasn't having a nightmare, like she had the night before, or the one before that, or before that. Her sheets weren't tangled around her body because of tossing and turning and her body wasn't breaking out into a cold sweat. For once, she was sleeping peacefully.

Snores were coming from the dog at the foot of her bed.

It was heavenly.

Until her alarm blared through her phone speakers.

A groan escaped her throat as she threw her arm over her eyes. The sun peaked through the curtain, begging to be let in. She threw the covers off herself and groggily made her way out of her comfortable bed.

She yawned and stretched before going through her morning routine.

She was just finishing tying her lacing her Jeffrey Campbell ankle booties when her bedroom door opened and Lydia strolled in.

Adelaide stood straight, grabbed her things and walked out of her room. "Let's get this shit over with." she put her sunglasses on to block her enemy from meeting her still adjusting eyes; the bright sun.

Lydia grinned and followed after her, "Someone's cranky this morning."

"I'm cranky every morning, Lydia." she rolled her eyes. They stepped outside, bags on their hands, and walked towards Adelaide's car.

She silently thanked whoever made weekends possible that it was finally Friday. School was a drag, and while she actually liked learning new things, she didn't like the people, or the teachers. She'd rather read the text book on her own.

She already has, actually. Nearly all of them. She and her sister were definitely overachievers.

"Well I'm sure indulging in a caramel macchiato will lift your spirits."

"Don't get your hopes up."

* * *

Turned out, the sugary beverage did lift her spirits.

The girls strut down the hallways of the school while carrying out a conversation of their own, awe filled eyes trailing after them.

"You know, your outfit isn't half bad." she commented, "Except for the shirt. I don't like it."

"Oh?" Adelaide rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink before throwing it in a random trash can, "Good thing I didn't ask, isn't it?"

Lydia rolled her eyes, "Guess that drink didn't really work after all."

"Oh it worked." she replied. Lydia only humphed in reply.

"Are you trying out this year?" Lydia asked when they caught sight of a Wrestling poster.

"Yes, actually, I have to go talk to Coach about it. I'll see you in class?" Adelaide walked off when Lydia nodded in agreement. Her strawberry-blonde curls bounced as she made her way to Coach's office.

Coach Finstock was definitely a good coach, that was for sure, but he was so invested in Lacrosse, he only showed up about 3 times a week, and the rest of the time assistant coaches were the ones actually coaching. Varsity helped a ton, though.

She was right about to head in when she heard Coach talking to someone in his loud voice. The other person was quiet, but she figured it out once she heard his low voice.

"Coach, I'm having some...issues with aggression." It was Scott. Her brows furrowed as she heard him talk about his "aggression issues"; usually playing a sport helped with that, god knows it helped Adelaide.

"Well guess what? That's why you play Lacrosse. Problem solved."

Adelaide knocked on the door before crossing her arms and waiting. She knew it was rude, but...too bad. Coach opened the door with his manic smile and crazy hair.

"See this, McCall?" Coach took Adelaide's shoulders and shook her in front of Scott. Adelaide's eyes widened and she shrugged his hands off of her roughly. "This is the prime example of team player. Martin here, is only a sophomore, and she's already in Varsity wrestling. And she doesn't bail last minute."

"What the fuck?" she whispered to herself.

"But Coach-"

Scott was cut off, quite rudely, by Coach Finstock.

"No buts, McCall." he stepped closer to the boy and looked at him, for once, seriously, "Listen, part of being first line is taking on the responsibility of being first line. So if you can't-if you can't shoulder on the responsibility then you're back on the bench for the rest of the season."

Scott was taken aback, his brows furrowed and he shook his head, "If I don't play the game, you're taking me off first line?"

Coach clapped his hands, "There we go! He gets it," he turned to Adelaide with another one of his crazy grins, "He gets it." Adelaide only made a face and nodded hesitantly. He turned back to Scott and clamped his hands down on his shoulders roughly, "McCall. Play. The game."

Scott nodded and made his way out of the office dejectedly, only smiling at Adelaide in greeting.

"So, what is it that you need, Martin?"

"Wrestling Tryouts-"

"Oh, don't tell me you're bailing too! C'mon, you're one of our best!"

Adelaide closed her eyes and begged for patience in her head, "Well if you'd let me finish maybe you'd find out what I have to say, Coach."

"Right, right. Go on."

"So, tryouts, I need to know if I'll still be captain. I wasn't here for Summer League, but-"

"Don't worry about it," Coach cut her off again, "As long as no one is better than you this season, you'll still be captain."

Adelaide narrowed her eyes and tried not to take it as an insult, "Good." she responded before heading out. "I'll be there in a few weeks."

* * *

Adelaide sat in AP Bio, doodling in her notebook as Mr. Harris spoke about their latest project; Flower Development.

They were to choose a plant, of any kind, and write everything they could about it, and put it onto a poster board, or some sort of brochure. At first, she thought it was actually about Flower Development, but apparently Harris just thought it was a convenient title. It was a way to start their Sophomore Year, and it would be the easiest project of the entire year.

He was going to assign their partners, and the project would last two whole weeks.

She really hoped she wasn't partnered up with a Karina Davis; she was a complete ditz. How she even managed to get into AP Bio was beyond her.

"Mr. Stilinski and Ms. Martin, you're partners."

Adelaide's pencil was slammed against her notebook and her head snapped up. Mr. Harris was looking at her with his beady eyes and deadpan expression, as always. Her eyes were wide and pleading; she could only pray that he had maybe misread it.

"What?"

Mr. Harris only rolled his eyes drolled, "I understand that being partnered with an ignorant moron like Mr. Stilinski may concern you, but quite frankly, I don't care."

She swiveled in her stool and her eyes landed and those of Stiles Stilinski, her blue eyes hard and her lips pulled into her mouth as he stared at her with narrowed and accusing caramel colored eyes.

It wasn't until the bell rang when they broke eye contact and Adelaide marched off to her next class.

Her foul mood went from 5 to 8 in a matter of seconds, and going by how horribly she and Stiles get along, this project was going to be hell.

* * *

The glare on her face was enough to have the students of Beacon Hills High throwing themselves out of her way as she stomped her way to her math class.

"So what'd he say?" was the first thing out of Lydia's mouth when she sat in her seat.

"I'm still captain, as long as no one is, and I quote, 'better than me'"

Lydia scoffed and jotted some notes down along with Adelaide as they spoke. "Doubtful."

"Anyway, I heard Jackson got hurt." Adelaide grinned at the thought.

"Oh, don't look so happy." Lydia rolled her eyes and breathed out through nose, "It was Scott's fault. He rammed into him, can you believe that?" she shook her head, "I mean, Jackson is the team captain, he's needed on the field."

"Maybe it was an accident." Adelaide piped in and shrugged. Jackson deserved it, anyway.

"It better have been, and Scott better play well tomorrow night. Or else."

"Hmm." Adelaide tilted her head at the problems on the board. "I heard he wasn't playing at all."

Lydia turned sharply, "What?" her jaw clenched and she glared at Scott, who was up at the board.

"Mhm" she replied distractedly as she finished the problem on her notes. "-said he was having 'aggression issues'"

"Aggression issues, huh?" Lydia stood suddenly and Adelaide looked up with raised brows, "I'll show him aggression issues."

"Thank you, Lydia." Mr. Johnson exclaimed before giving her the piece of chalk. Scott looked quite terrified as she stomped up there with a vicious glare on her face.

Adelaide could hear the conversation perfectly from her spot in the front, and she smirked at the things coming out of her sister's mouth.

"-we'll probably win anyway, and we'll go out after like we were planning, and I'll introduce Allison to all of the hot players on the team. And Scott McCall can stay home surfing the net for porn."

Adelaide laughed and high fived her sister.

* * *

After school Lydia went through with her plan of introducing all the hot players on the team to Allison, and everyone else was buzzing with the news of a curfew.

She and Alex were walking towards her car, making conversation. His arm was thrown over her shoulder and she leaned into him.

"I can't believe I've been paired with Stiles. I mean, couldn't it have been someone else?"

"Well I got paired with Scott, not that you noticed what with all your staring competitions with Stiles." said Alex as they neared her car. "What's your deal with him anyway? He's a cool guy, Ads."

Adelaide's face screwed up as if she'd tasted something sour, "He's...-he's just so..." her brows furrowed as she struggled to form a coherent sentence. She made a strangled noise of frustration, "...ugh!"

Alex chuckled at his best friend's frustrations. "Why? Because he's just as sarcastic and witty as you are? Maybe you're just mad because he's the only person other than me, or Lydia, that has called you out on your bullshit. Or...you're just so into him, you only think you hate him.'" he joked, laughing when her face screwed up in disgust.

"That's definitely not it." she exclaimed haughtily.

Alex made little kissing noises and inappropriate faces, so she pinched his side and he laughed at her annoyance. "Shut up." she muttered lowly.

"So, are you excited for the game tomorrow night?" she asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Hell yeah!" he exclaimed with a large grin, "-but I'm also kinda nervous."

Adelaide chuckled and entered the car, "Yeah, well, it's your first one in this school, but I'm beyond sure you'll do absolutely amazing. In fact, you're going to blow their minds. I swear."

"If you say so." he said in a sing-song voice.

"I do. And what I say usually goes."

"Right."

Lydia appeared then.

"Addy, I need a favour."

* * *

Adelaide didn't like hospitals. In fact, she loathed hospitals. They reminded her of things from her past that she'd really rather not be reminded of, and when Lydia asked her to go with her, she automatically said no, but Lydia insisted, and because Adelaide was a good sister and knew that Lydia too hated hospitals, she agreed, as long as Alex could come with her.

She tried not to clutched onto his hand as they neared the entrance, everything about her screaming cool and collected while her insides screamed holy-shit,-get-me out-of-here.

"Why did come again?" she asked as they neared the entrance, "I have better things to do than accompany some half-witted jock to the hospital."

"You came because you love me." Lydia replied.

She stepped over the threshold and let out a breath of hair she didn't know she was holding in. Her hand tightened around Alex's and she was sure her nails were digging into his skin, but he didn't complain. He only squeezed her hand comfortingly.

They walked up to the front desk and Jackson told them about his appointment. They led him to a room and Lydia, Alex, and Adelaide took seat.

"I'm sorry, Ads, I know how much you hate hospitals." Lydia said guiltily as she looked at her sister.

"It's fine." Lydia gave her a pointed look, "I'm _fine_." Lydia sighed and leaned back into her chair.

Adelaide took her ear buds and phone out, chose a song and plugged one in her ear. She let her head lean on Alex's shoulder and her hand rest in Lydia's as she calmed down with the music.

Suddenly, Lydia's phone started ringing and she excused to herself to go answer it, sitting on the other side of the wall.

"Oh my god." she heard someone mutter. She turned to the owner of the voice and a frown appeared on her face at the sight of Stiles Stilinski.

He slowly approached Lydia as she listened to whoever was on the line, clearly, he didn't know she was on the phone because he actually tried talking to her.

Adelaide nudged Alex and they both watched the scene unfold.

"Hey, Lydia..." he placed his arm on the wall and tried his best act casual; it wasn't working. "-you probably don't remember me, um, I sit behind you...-in History. Uh...-anyway, I've always thought that we just had this kinda connection? You know, unspoken, of course...maybe it would be kinda cool to get to know each other a little better?"

Adelaide covered her mouth to smother the laugh she wanted to let out. Lydia was on the phone...while Stiles was trying to make a move on her.

"Hold on, give me a second." she heard Lydia mutter to whoever it was on the line, and Adelaide was literally going to explode. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch any of what you just said. Is it worth repeating?"

Stiles made an odd choking noise in his throat and said, "Ha, uh...-no. Sorry..." he walked backwards, more towards where Adelaide and ALex were sitting, "I'm gonna sit..." he pointed back, "You-you don't care. Okay."

"Ok_aay_." Lydia responded.

"Well that was slightly pathetic, and definitely amusing." Adelaide exclaimed as he sat down and took a pamphlet into his hands.

"Holy! God..." he jumped about 2 ft into the air before looking at them with accusing eyes. Adelaide laughed loudly at his expense while Alex just chuckled. "Wh-why do you always have to do that?"

Adelaide ignored his question and turned towards him with calculating eyes, "You know, my sister's with Jackson, right? She's taken."

His right eye even twitched in annoyance as he glared at her.

"I'm well aware, thank you."

"Then why do you bother?" She wasn't trying to be an ass, she was actually curious, she just wanted to know.

"That's not really your business." he replied distractedly. His knee was bouncing up and down and he was looking around like he was waiting for someone, but Adelaide ignored all of that.

Her eyes narrowed and she scoffed, "Not my business, huh? And where was that state of mind when you told me to be 'nicer to my dad'?"

His spine straightened at the reminder and he turned his head so suddenly, he could have gotten whiplash, "Really? You're still on that?"

"Yeah, actually, I am 'still on that', thank you very much."

Stiles was going to fire back in a way only Stiles and Adelaide could, but Alex stopped him. He put his arm between them pushed them away from each other. In the midst of their small argument, they'd managed to get closer, much closer.

"Alright, alright, time to calm down. This is a hospital, not a fighting ring, guys."

Adelaide clenched her jaw and sat back into her chair, crossing one leg over the other while Stiles grabbed a random pamphlet and shoved it in his face.

Alex went back onto his phone after muttering something lowly. Stiles was obviously going to keep on ignoring her, and with Alex busying himself on his phone, she had no one to talk to. No one to distract her.

Calculating bright eyes wandered around the lobby, fair skinned hands subconsciously folded in her lap, and her heel clad foot moved from side to side in spastic movements. Though on the outside she seemed calm, and totally unaffected, the silence and the lack of a distraction was getting to her. She wanted to go home, run, draw, blast her music to its maximum volume and dance, anything but sit there quietly in a hospital lobby. Her foot moved faster, and the clock on the wall across from her seemed to be ticking slower than before. She could practically _hear _the tick of each movement it made, and it drove her further into a panic.

Her jaw clenched tightly as the noise grew louder, her heart beating like a hammer against her ribs. She was oblivious to her nails digging into her knuckles as her hands sat still folded neatly in her lap, drawing blood.

Experience with panic attacks very often as a child allowed her to keep her cool on the outside, but she didn't know for how much longer because she could feel every part of her being start to tremble.

"Adelaide, come on." Lydia's voice snapped her out of her anxiety filled daze and she looked up to see her sister looking down at her expectantly. "Jackson's finished."

She nodded and stood quickly, "Right." She turned to see Stiles peaking from the pamphlet awkwardly before giving him a sharp glare and walking out with the others following closely behind. She felt a sting on the skin beneath her knuckles and looked down to see the indents of her nails on her skin.

A drop of blood fell onto the white floors of the hospital.

* * *

Adelaide was running.

After dropping Alex home, and taking Jackson and Lydia to his place, she went for a run and she was running back home after 9 miles.

Her feet pounded against the ground faster and faster the closer she got to her house. She was sweating profusely and her tank top stuck to her like a second skin. Thoughts of the hospital never strayed and only bringing up torturous memories of the past.

_"Daddy, where am I?" _

She ran faster.

_"You're in the hospital, baby." _

Her calves burned.

_"Why?"_

The music on her phone stopped suddenly and so did she.

_"There was an accident, baby."_

Her breaths came out in vicious pants.

_"Did I get a boo-boo?" _

Her hands were on her knees.

_"Yes, baby, you got a boo-boo." _

A strangled noise ripped away from her throat as she leaned against a tree.

_"Daddy?" _

_"Yeah, baby?"_

_"Why are you crying?"_

* * *

The next day she didn't have to wake up by alarm, but by a phone call. A very annoying phone call from a very annoying person.

"'Lo?" her groggy voice answered. Cheers were heard from the other line along with Coach's incessant yelling.

"_Adelaide! Where the hell are you? It's 11am!"_

"So?"

_"So? You were supposed to come to practice! You missed the whole thing."_

"M'kay." she lay limp on her bed with her eyes closed as Lydia spoke loudly.

"_Alex made quite a few scores, you know..._"

"Mhm..." she yawned into the phone and nestled herself into the pillows, petting Ava lovingly when she jumped onto the bed.

"_You're impossible_." she heard Lydia sigh into the phone, and she could just imagine her rolling her eyes and checking her compact mirror for any smeared make-up.

"M'kay." she mumbled lowly, "I'm hangin' u'now."

_"N-"_

Adelaide hung up and tried to go back to sleep, but it didn't come to her easily. In fact, it wouldn't come to her at all. She groaned in frustration and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and going into the bathroom.

**Once she was finished with her usual routine, she padded down the stairs and made some breakfast...or lunch. She turned on the large flat screen TV on in her living room and ate. The news was on, and she was much to lazy to get up and change it, so she just watched, and...actually got into it.

They were talking about the recent murder, the body she had found just a week ago.

_"This just in, a body of a young girl, mid-twenties, found in the Beacon Hills Preserve has been identified as Laura Hale..."_

Her heart dropped to her stomach, the blood drained from her face.

_Laura Hale_

The name echoed in her ears.

No.

She...-they had to be mistaken, Laura Hale was alive. She wasn't in town...-no. No! She wasn't dead, she wasn't the body Adelaide had found. She wasn't, she couldn't be.

She used to play barbies with her, she used to chase her around the gardens of the house until they were out of breath, laughing until they had tears in their eyes. She wasn't dead. She wasn't.

But she could be.

Adelaide stood and started to pace, gripping onto her curly strands of hair tightly as she tried to make sense of it.

It couldn't be true. It wasn't. But she remembered...the horrid smell of death that still clung to her nose from the night she'd found the lower half of the body. She remembered the blood that stuck to the underside of her fingernails and how hard it was to scrub it off. She remembered what she saw...with her own two eyes. A body torn in half...the pendant.

The pendant...she remembered it, and Laura, who used to wear it around her neck everyday and never took it off.

How could she not notice it?

How could she have just taken the necklace like that?

How could she be so blind?

Laura could be dead.

She jumped when the cell phone beside her rang and saw that it was Lydia. She cleared her throat and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

_"Adelaide...I just saw it..."_ Lydia breathed out. Her tone was small and sad. Vulnerable.

"Yeah." her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat, "I did to."

"_I.._." Lydia was at loss for words, "_I'll come pick you up. We'll go to the game early._"

"Yeah. Okay." she hung up before Lydia could say anything else.

Laura _was _dead.

* * *

Lydia picked her up as promised, and they drove in silence.

Adelaide was staring out the window with vacant eyes, her head throbbing and her hands clenched tightly around each other.

When she got to the school she planned on putting it all in the back of her mind, she planned to put it in a little box and ignore it like she did everything else, because there were more important things to deal with like school, and Alex and the lacrosse game.

She couldn't deal with it. She didn't want to.

So that's what she did. They got to the school and plastered on some fake grins and linked their arms together in a way of silent comfort.

She couldn't have stayed home anyway.

Alex, who was so excited about the game, so happy that he'd compete in Lacrosse once again, he would be hurt if she wasn't there.

The guys were all practicing for their up coming game as the girls sat down on the first step. Coach was yelling at them, handing out 'motivational' speeches like they were business cards.

Alex was running with the stick in his hand and the ball in the net, and when he threw it to the goal, he made it. Adelaide let the game distract her from the current events and grinned whenever Alex scored.

She even cheered a little, and gave a thumbs up when he looked her way. He grinned and gave thumbs up before going back to the practice game.

It continued on that way until the other school got there and people started sitting on the bleachers, talking about the game, and wondering who would win.

"I'll be back in a second." Lydia said before walking to none other than Scott McCall. She grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him close to her.

Adelaide couldn't hear a thing, but she didn't care enough to. Instead she stood and walked up to No. 24 and sat right next to him, on the bench.

"Jesus-!" Stiles jumped, clearly startled.

"Not Jesus, just Adelaide." she grinned at his obvious annoyance and his eye twitched, as it always did when he was around her.

"Why are you here? Wh-Are you stalking me now?" he looked at her through accusing eyes, but didn't let her reply, "Cause...that's-that's kinda pathetic. I mean, really? First the hospital, then...here? What next? My house?"

Her brows rose and a grin flashed across her face, she covered her mouth to smother her laughter.

"Wh-This is not a laughing matter!" he flailed his arms and looked at her with wide eyes. "I could be in serious danger...from you"

"Stiles...this is a Lacrosse game." she said slowly, as if talking to a mental patient...which wasn't so far out.

"Yeah? So?" he crossed his arms.

"...open to the whole school."

He opened his mouth to retort, but he seemed slightly flustered, until he just went with something else.

"That-that doesn't explain why you're here. Sitting next to me. On the bench. Invading my personal bubble. Emphasis on personal, as in one person."

She rolled her eyes and crossed one leg over the other. "Oh, get over yourself Stilinski, I'm not asking you on a date. I just need your number."

He scoffed and motioned exaggeratedly with his hands, "That-right there is what I am talking about!"

She clenched her jaw, rolled her eyes, and decided if he was going to make it difficult, she would make it simple. She stood up, and clamped her hands down on his shoulders, looking him dead in the eye. "Stiles, we have a project for chemistry together. And while I would love to switch partners, we can't and I'm not going to do all of the fucking work and give you credit too. So you either give me your damn number so we can do this together, or I do it all by myself and you can receive a big, fat F, for fuck you."

His eyes were wide as and he made a weird choking noise in the back of his throat, "Holy...-why are you always so violent?" She leaned closer and he hastily gave her his number.

She smirked in triumph and typed it into her phone. "Thanks."

He scowled and returned to biting the gloves and bouncing his knee up and down.

She left him there and walked back to her seat.

When the whistle blew and the players were headed off to the field, Lydia came back with satisfaction planted on her face. Seemed like Lydia got plenty of satisfaction off intimidating others, just like Adelaide did.

"How was your little talk?"

Lydia pursed her lips before smiling, "Interesting. And yours?" Lydia looked at her with knowing eyes.

"Interesting." she repeated.

Adelaide was almost positive they were going to win. With Alex, Scott, and even Jackson, the three best players, they were bound to kick Kaven High's ass.

"Hey guys." the twins heard a sweet voice exclaim from beside them. They twisted their bodies and noted it was Allison and a man, probably her father.

"Hey" they replied in unison, matching grins on their faces.

Allison laughed lightly before taking a seat by their side, "I'm never going to get used to that."

Her father gave her a pointed look and Allison turned to introduce them, "Oh, uh, this is my dad. Dad, this is Lydia and Adelaide, my friends."

"I'm Adelaide." she exclaimed when she saw his sharp blue eyes flitted between them curiously. She held her hand out and shook his firmly.

"And I'm Lydia."

"It's nice to finally put a face to the girls Allison has been speaking so much of." he smiled warmly and the girls smiled innocently as if they were the sweetest, most innocent 16 year-olds in the whole wide world.

The night continued, the game was intense, and Adelaide found herself cheering for Alex plenty of times, but that didn't really seem to matter to the others because they were still losing.

Her brow furrowed as she sat on the edge of her seat, completely invested in the game. Her eyes focused on Jackson as he huddled some of the others, not including Scott or even Alex, and demanded something from them, and Adelaide had an idea what it was. Anticipation spiked through her and her knee started bouncing as they continued to play.

Her jaw clenched as Jackson once again took away Alex's opportunity to shoot into the net.

Lydia held up one of her posters for Jackson and somehow roped Allison into doing it, cheering him on. Adelaide scoffed and continued to watch the game. Scott waved at the others, trying to get them to pass, he was open, and they were complete fucking idiots.

She looked over to the score board and shook her head as she saw the score. If they lost the game, Alex would be so disappointed, and she couldn't have that.

"STOP BEING AN ASS AND PASS THE DAMN BALL, JACKSON!" she yelled out, and grinned when everyone looked over to her, some with gratitude and surprise, and others with disdain.

They were starting it up again, Scott and another guy were head to head and suddenly, the ball was thrown up. Adelaide waited in anticipation for someone to catch it, anyone, preferably Alex or Scott; the only two people she actually liked on the team.

The ball went up, up, and up, until finally, Scott was sailing through the air and running with quick reflexes, dodging every single player, to the net.

Her voice was loud and high pitched as she cheered for them.

Alex looked at his best friend when he heard her loud voice over everyone else, a beaming smile on his face. It was her way of showing support for him, and he loved it.

"Is she usually like this?" Mr. Argent asked, clearly amused.

Lydia grinned as her sister hollered and cheered, and she knew it was only for Alex, "She gets really into it."

"Yeah, we can see that." Allison laughed lightly.

"Wooo! Go Alex!" she cheered, even though he didn't make the shot. He helped.

When the ball was on the field, once again, Alex managed to get to it, dodging players and looking for someone that was open, that someone was Scott. Adelaide watched as Jackson glared at Scott, and tried to knock him out of the way, but it just wouldn't happen. Alex arched back and tossed the ball to Scott, who caught it and took the winning shot.

"YES! YES! THAT'S MY ALEX!"

The final whistle blew and everyone was cheering loudly, congratulating the team, and jumping up and down from excitement.

Alex was beaming, talking to Danny, about the game no doubt when Adelaide walked up to them and gave him a big grin.

"You won." she sing-songed, and he smirked back.

"Well technically-"

She rolled her eyes and punched his arm playfully, "Oh, shut up."

Danny snorted in amusement and shook his head at the two, "Alright, you two, do we really need to start this again?"

Adelaide and Alex looked up with innocent eyes and said at the same time, "Start what?"

Suddenly, the Coach blew his whistle and called the boys to the locker room, and she was all alone in the field, save for the few people that lingered.

She looked around, only to find that Lydia was gone. Probably with Jackson, congratulating him, even though he was a massive dick.

A chilled breeze flew in, flapping her leather jacket about. Even after she zipped it up, she couldn't seem to keep warm.

The sound of a crunch on the icy crisp grass made her turn around, towards the dark woods.

For a moment, she had thought her heart had stopped beating, and swore ice froze in her veins as she stared into his grey eyes. And even from the distance she was, she could see the fear and hurt carefully hidden behind his mask of anger.

Laura's appearance, her death, and the heartbreak came rushing back.

Because there stood Adelaide's cousin, and Laura's brother, a few feet away.

Derek Hale.

* * *

**Adelaide and Lydia are related to Derek...whaaaaaaaaaaaaat! Tell me what you think, what you feeel about this sudden twist. PM me if you have any questions, and revieeeewwwww :D please? with derek on top? (; or stiles**

**xoxo Brii(:**


	9. Not The Emotional Type

**Outfits are on my profile if you wanna check them out :D**

**Chapter 9**

**A Wolf At The Door by Radiohead**

Any normal person would be flooded with emotions. They would be desperate for something to numb the pain, but Adelaide wast an everyday person and she didn't need anything to numb the pain because she was already _numb_.

Numb in the sense where she couldn't feel _anything._

And all she could do was wait for the pins and needles to kick in.

She couldn't get Derek's face out of her head. The once friendly green eyes she had known, now grey, hateful, and cold. So cold a shiver would trickle down her spine, column by column when his eyes burned into her thoughts.

His once youthful face, painted with a permanent scowl, hardened...much like his heart.

He didn't even say hello, or bother to wave.

She wanted to run and hug him, let him know that he wasn't alone. But like a fool she stood there, and watched.

But he was alone.

His whole family was dead. And Laura...

Adelaide's eyes widened as she looked at the palm of her right hand, where her hand was covered in blood only a few days ago. She had Laura's blood stained on her hands, whether it was visible or not.

It was there.

She wiped her hand on her jeans, as if that would wash them clean, deny it happened in the first place.

Adelaide _saw _Laura's body. She had her blood on her hands. She had _Laura's blood _on her hands. Yet...she couldn't feel the grief she was supposed to after losing another loved one.

The most sickening knot tightened in her stomach. Although her mouth, now dry, she didn't want another sip of her lemonade

Her phone started ringing, but she didn't notice.

"Adelaide!"

What was wrong with her?

Someone was snapping their fingers in front of her face and she blinked twice before looking up. It was Alex looking down at her with a mixture of concern and confusion.

"What?"

"Your phone's been ringing for the past 5 minutes."

She frowned and looked down at her phone; 2 missed calls, and 1 text from her mother. "Oh."

"Are you okay?"

She looked back up and gave a rather weak attempt at a smirk. "Peachy keen." she took her phone and stood up, "I'll be right back."

After the game, they all went to a small diner in town. Including Scott and Stiles, much to Jackson's dismay. Adelaide hadn't really talked through out the whole ride, only when spoken to. Sometimes, not even then.

Lydia knew why, and she knew that if she told Alex, they'd be in big trouble. Being a Hale, apparently, was dangerous, and if they told Alex about how much Laura's death _really_ affected them, he'd asked questions and they didn't want that.

Their parents made them keep it a secret, their father said it wasn't safe. Whatever the hell that meant. So they took Martin.

* * *

Once Adelaide was in a more secluded area, she called her mother back and only waited 3 rings before she answered.

"Mother?"

_"Adelaide, has your father called you?" _

Adelaide's eyes lit with annoyance and anger, "Yeah, actually he did. You know what he told me?" her mother didn't get to answer before Adelaide did for her, "He told me that _you _invited _him_ to stay at the house.."

Caroline sighed on the other end, _"He shouldn't have called." __  
_

"No, you should have told me. I mean, does Lydia even know?"

_"I told her just a few days after I left."_

Adelaide halted in all movement. Her face paled and her eyes twisted into an array of emotions.

"She knew?"

_"I told her not to tell you, don't blame her for it."_

She took a deep breath and shook her head to clear it, "Right. Okay, well, is that all?"

_"Yes, I have to get back to work now." _

"Okay...bye."

_"Goodbye." _

Adelaide hung up and stuffed her phone back into her back pocket. An angry scowl etched itself across her features and she clenched her fists.

Lydia knew. She knew about their father coming to Beacon Hills with his wife and she didn't tell her. She swallowed thickly and tried to calm herself down. She wouldn't react. Not yet anyway.

She walked back to the booth and sat down, ignoring the questioning glances and taking a sip of her strawberry lemonade.

"Who was it?" Alex asked.

Her electrifying eyes snapped to Lydia and she answered with an almost challenging tone, "It was my mother." she was talking to Alex, but looking at Lydia.

Lydia's eyes widened and Adelaide noticed the flash of nervousness in her eyes before she quickly composed herself. "Oh?" she asked nonchalantly, "What'd she say?"

Adelaide's eyes wandered to the waitress coming their way before looking at Lydia. She pursed her lips and gave Lydia a meaningful look, "Nothing important." She never broke eye contact.

Adelaide heard Stiles let out a groan of pleasure and broke out of the stare down. The waitress had brought their food to them and set it on the table.

"Finally." she muttered and popped a curly fry into her mouth. She brushed off the conversation with her and decided she'd deal with it some other time, she already had enough on her mind.

"The food isn't going to run away anytime soon, Ads." Alex exclaimed. Adelaide was eating like she hadn't eaten in days. Technically, she hadn't eaten since 11am, and she always had a big appetite. It shouldn't have been a surprise.

"Shut up." she piped in before popping another curly fry into her mouth to taunt him. He was eating a salad, and she had no idea why. "You're just jealous."

Suddenly, she felt something icy and wet drop onto the front of her shirt. She jumped and, embarrassingly, squealed. She looked down and saw her shirt was wet with soda.

"Oops...sorry."

She looked up and glared fiercely at Stiles. He was gaping at the wet spots on her shirt and the Coca Cola dripping off the table. "What the _fuck_?!"

"My hand...slipped?"

He tried his best to sound and look apologetic, but a small grin involuntarily crept onto his face.

She was red with anger and her icy blue eyes darkened. "Slipped? Your hand-" she scoffed loudly before getting an idea. "I'll show you a-" she didn't even bother finishing her sentence as she pushed her drink in his direction.

Her strawberry lemonade 'spilled' all over his plaid shirt and dripped onto the floor. His face was priceless.

Shock and disbelief colored his face.

His eyes narrowed angrily before he threw a piece of lettuce at her. It landed in her shirt and she gasped before she, too, narrowed her eyes.

She threw a slice of the tomato in her burger and it landed on his face. She grinned smugly as it slid down his face and the mayonnaise left a trail.

It didn't last long though, because a pickled hit her smack on her mouth.

The others watched on with disbelief. Alex and Lydia looked almost exasperated, and so did Scott. Jackson looked like he was going to stab himself in the face, Allison was covering her mouth to smother her giggles, and Danny was just eating and grinning as he watched on like it was a show. No one bothered to say anything; they definitely didn't want to get involved.

"You're-" she took a piece of chicken from Alex's plate, "such-" it flew his way, "-a dick!"

"Me!? You-" he grabbed one of Scott's noodles, "you're-" it landed in her hair, "-a bitch!"

Adelaide had her hand poised to toss some BBQ sauce at his face, and he was about to throw some ranch when they heard someone clear their throat.

Their movements halted and they turned to look up at the older man with guilty expression. He was wearing a business suit, and a tag that said Manager was placed neatly on his suit.

"What do you think you're doing?"

They were quite the sight. Adelaide had sauces running down her cheeks and noodles in her hair, her shirt was soaked through with soda, and there was lettuce in her bra. Stiles too had sauces running down his cheeks, and the tomato, surprisingly, stuck. They were a wreck.

Adelaide blinked before she planted an almost innocent smile on her face, and clasped her hands together, grimacing when the BBQ sauce smeared.

"S-sup..." Stiles' eyes widened when he noticed the tag, "-Mr-Mr. Manager."

The manager glared at them and pointed at the door, "Get out."

"Right."

They hastily made their way out of the restaurant, the others following behind with scowls on their faces.

"You just _had_ to get us kicked out, didn't you?" Jackson exclaimed from behind them.

"Oh, stop being such a little bitch, Jackson." Adelaide replied as she picked a noodle out of her hair. "I'm sure Lydia can feed you, right Lydia?"

Lydia only rolled her eyes and ignored her. She expected it, and she was sure it would only get worse until one or the other apologized.

Adelaide looked down at the stained shirt and scowled at the new stain.

"Stiles, you owe me a new shirt."

Stiles gaped, his mouth closing and opening several times before he pointed back at his shirt, "You owe _me _a new shirt."

"You star-"

"Hey!" Alex shouted.

Adelaide and Stiles stopped their banter before turning to look at Alex with identical looks of shock and annoyance.

"Shut up."

* * *

_Cold air whipped across her bare arms and legs. _

_Her feet padded against the wet grass as she tried to make anything out of the darkness, but all she could see was the full moon. Twigs snapped beneath her feet, and something sharp picked at them. She could feel as the blood trickled across her feet, but she kept walking._

_She heard a twig snapping to her left. Her head snapped in that same direction and she forced herself to move faster. She had no sense of direction, but she suddenly had the urge to run away. _

_Whispers drifted into her ears and she shook her head to get rid of them._

_"You're weak..." _

_"Leave me alone." she whispered into the night. _

_"She's dead because of you..."_

_"Shut up." she whimpered. _

_"She's dead..." the voice chuckled. "Because you're weak." _

_The voice only got louder and louder until she clutched at her ears. The voice kept repeating it. Because of her. She was dead because of her. _

_Dylan was dead. _

_Because of her. _

_"STOP!" she screeched, clutching at her ears until she collapsed. She didn't want to remember. She didn't want to think._

_"It's all your fault..." a new voice whispered. Her head moved quickly in the direction the voice came from, but there was nothing there. _

_Childlike giggles echoed around her, "It's all your fault..." the voice whispered once again. _

_Her ears bled as they got louder. _

_She could feel as the blood dripped onto her white dress. _

_The nearly overwhelming panic only worsened as the pain only grew worse and the voices only grew louder. They were screeching in her ear._

_Suddenly, everything stopped, and she opened her eyes. _

_Only to look into those of a beast._

_A red eyed beast. _

_"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" the beast roared as it reached for her neck._

_Its hand clutched onto her neck and squeezed. She could feel branches and pieces of sharp bark stab her back as she was pushed roughly against a tree. _

_Her once white dress was red with blood. _

_The world was spinning, she couldn't breathe, all she could do was look into the eyes of a red eyed beast. She clawed at the hands of the beast. _

_Hot breath fanned itself on her chin as it lowered its head to her ear as it chuckled. _

_"It's all your fault." _

_Tears gathered in her eyes and she let out a bloodcurdling scream. _

A scream tore its way out of her throat as she shot up, hands at her neck and sweat drenching her clothes.

The room was spinning. She couldn't breathe. Her hands were at he throat, and she couldn't breathe.

She tried to gather her surroundings. She tried to focus on the posters littered across her burgundy walls, the different colors, she tried to make sense of the words, and once she did she was able to breathe.

Shaky hands fist themselves around her soft sheets as she tried to calm her erratic heart beat. She closed her eyes tightly and breathed in deeply, relishing in the oxygen that filled her lungs.

When she opened her eyes she was significantly calmer.

Instead of stopping to think about one of the many terrifying nightmares that tainted her mind, she got up and followed through with her morning routine with The Strokes playing loudly in the background. It was a distraction that, for once, she was thankful for.

She couldn't think of the nightmare, or why she had it, or the bone crushing guilt that weighed down on her heart. It would open the gates to a flood of emotions she wasn't sure she could deal with. She didn't think she'd be ready any time soon.

She finished applying her coat of blood red lipstick and walked out of the door after patting Ava's head affectionately.

The house was empty, due to Lydia sleeping over at Jackson's.

Grabbing her keys out of her bag, she stepped into her car and drove off to school.

Lydia and Adelaide hadn't talked since the day of the game, at all. They ignored each other as much as possible, and Adelaide made sure to throw in as many hostile glances as she could. She hadn't forgotten that Lydia didn't tell her about their father coming to Beacon Hills. Sure, their mother told Lydia specifically _not _to tell Adelaide, but that didn't matter.

Lydia _knew _he was coming and she didn't tell her. She lied straight to her face, and that was what angered Adelaide the most.

She parked in the school parking lot, plugged her earbuds into her ears and walked into the school.

Adelaide and Lydia were close, very close, they didn't lie to each other, not usually.

Usually, Adelaide would have gotten over it, if it were something small, but it wasn't something small. Not at all.

And Adelaide could hold a grudge.

* * *

Her heels clicked on the floors of Beacon Hills high with speedy steps as she listened to a particular aggressive song.

People were weaving around the school in rushed paces and some were just hanging around their locker until the bell rang.

It was when she passed by a crowding door that she became curious. Everyone was surrounding the doors that led to the quad, and although the doors were wide open, she was too short to actually see anything, even in the heels.

She tapped someone's shoulder, "Hey, do you know what happened?"

Matt Daehler turned around, she only recognized him because he was always asking for pictures, and grinned, "Yeah, uh, I guess someone was killed in a buss. Like totally ripped apart. It was pretty gruesome. There's blood everywhere."

Her nose crinkled and a dimple appeared between her brows as she thought about it. It did sound pretty disgusting, but she couldn't help the curiosity that flowed through her. She _reaally_ wanted to see it.

She bit her lip, and looked back up at him, only for him to be looking down at her lips with lust in his eyes, but that wasn't it. There was something else she couldn't exactly pin point, but instead of trying to decipher it, she mumbled an 'excuse me' and pushed people out of her way to get to the crime scene.

There, before her, was a bus, completely torn apart with bloody hand prints and broken windows. The doors were missing, and there was blood everywhere.

A brow raised and she looked back to see everyone staring with disgust and horror in their eyes. She could only look back and wonder what the hell did that.

"Attention students, this is your principle. I know you're all wondering about the incident that occurred last night with one of our buses. While the police force determine what happened, classes will proceed as scheduled. Thank you." A collective groan sounded throughout the whole school.

The bell rang and she pushed her way back out and walked towards her class, until she noticed a locker.

Jackson's locker.

"What the..."

It was hanging of its hinges with a dent in it and papers spilling out. How the hell someone managed to do that was beyond her.

A large grin found its way onto her cherry coated lips and she found herself chuckling.

Jackson was going to be _pissed._

* * *

With a pen twirling in between her fingers and her completed assignment in front of her, Adelaide sat in chemistry bored out of her mind.

The clock was taunting her, and each tick seemed to take longer as time passed on. Everyone else was working on their assignment, except for Scott and Stiles, who instead of actually caring about their grades, decided to whisper with one another; it was rather annoying.

She couldn't make out what it was they were saying exactly, but it was still pretty loud, and she was surprised Harris hadn't shut them up. She would have turned around and told them that they were being quite noisy, but she wasn't that nice.

So she let Harris do it instead.

"Mr. Stilinski, if that's your idea of a hushed whisper, you might want to pull the headphones out every once in a while. I think you and Mr. McCall would benefit from a little distance, yes?"

Her strawberry-blonde curls were pulled over one shoulder as she turned to see Stiles' reaction. His mouth was open in protest and disbelief and annoyance was prominent in his expression.

"No."

Then, Harris did the worst thing he could have possibly done.

He pointed Stiles to the seat beside Adelaide.

Her eyes closed for just a second, and she blew air out of her mouth in irritation.

Great. Fan-fucking-tastic.

It was the only empty seat in the classroom, but Adelaide didn't mind.

People seemed to be intimidated by Adelaide...at least those who didn't really take the time to know her.

She was thankful for the empty seat next to her, it always served as a perfect spot for her books and bags, but of course Stiles had found a way to take away a simple pleasure from her

So now she had to move her bag and things.

"So...you're my new lab partner."

She pursed her lips and tilted her head as she regarded him with a blank expression, "Consider yourself lucky." with a quirk of her lips, she turned back and tapped her manicured nails on the desk.

"Lucky?" he scoffed, "This-this is definitely not lucky. It's like the definition of not being lucky. Speaking of definitions, have you ever bothered to crack open a dictionary? Because I promise you'll find a picture of yourself, next to the words cantankerous and bi-"

"Mr. Stilinski" Mr. Harris hissed at him with a tone of warning "The idea of silence seems to confuse a simple minded fool such as yourself, so let me make this clear. The next time you so much utter a word, so much move that clumsy muscle you call a tongue...you'll be cleaning the chalkboard with it."

Stiles sunk in his seat, defeated.

Adelaide simply rolled her eyes, and crossed one leg over the other as her foot started to move from side to side, ignoring him completely.

When she looked over at him, it was like he was purposely trying to sit still, only that didn't work out very well. He was fidgeting all over, and throwing annoyed glances her way.

Then, there was silence. And not the good kind. No, it was awkward, and filled with thick tension charged with hostility and something else; it could be cut with a knife.

It was like they were trying to stare each other down, neither were willing to look away, both competitive until the end.

Piercing cold blue, staring deep into a pool of warm hazel eyes.

When the loud voice of Melanie Kane sounded through out the class, they snapped away from there small staring contest.

"I think they found something!"

Adelaide bright eyes turned towards Melanie and she stood along with the rest of the class, her curiosity getting the best of her.

Paramedics were wheeling a bloodied man out of the forest. He looked dead, with blood covering from head to toe, and his limbs hanging limp at his sides.

A crease formed between her eyebrows as she leaned a little closer to the window, it looked like he was moving. Though he was far away, she could have sworn she saw his feet move.

Suddenly, he shot up and started screaming and thrashing as the paramedics tried to hold him down.

Everyone in the class jolted back in surprise, including Adelaide, while some even screamed.

She jumped backwards and, unintentionally, fell into someone's chest. The heel of her boot came in contact with someone's shoes, and she would have fell if it hadn't been for the person behind her. Whoever it was grabbed tightly onto her hips.

She looked up, her head just brushing against his shoulder.

It was Stiles.

His hands clutching tightly onto her hips, his eyes wide with surprise as he looked down at her.

"That…-uh, sorry."

His words seemed to snap them back into reality because she glared at him and he let go of her hastily.

"It's fine."

* * *

"Have you ever noticed that Harris always looks like he's killed a puppy?" Alex asked as they walked to the Library for their free period.

"Huh...I don't know. Sometimes he just looks constipated." Adelaide replied.

"I don't think he's even capable of human emotion." he continued, in his own little world. "And he seems to have a strong hatred for Stiles."

Adelaide's red lips pulled into a small smirk at his statement, "I don't blame him."

Alex only rolled his eyes and nudged her with his elbow, "What is it with you two anyway? There's like tons of tension when you guys are together, some might even think it's sexual." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively and it was his turn to be nudged in the ribs.

"Please don't say that, the mere thought of it disgusts me. Besides, we're like...-complete opposites. We hate each other."

"Well you know what they say, opposites attract."

It was like Alex wanted it to happen.

"Well sometimes, that shit isn't true. This is definitely one of those t-"

Adelaide didn't get to finish her sentence because someone, knocked right into her.

She stumbled right into Alex, her hands reached for his shirt to keep from falling sideways. Her eyes snapped up to glare at whoever it was. When she looked up, her eyes hardened.

There she stood, clutching her cross necklace in her hand, her eyes wide fear and anger combined. Adelaide half expected her to break out in a prayer in the middle of the hallway.

"Rachel." Adelaide rolled her eyes at the sight. She was pathetic. Her little friends were right beside her, doing nothing but standing there and watching with wide eyes. Rachel's round face, big blue eyes and straight blonde hair gave her an almost innocent and childlike appearance, but she was anything but innocent.

Rachel gulped loudly, "Adelaide."

"What? Nothing to say?" Adelaide took a small step closer and Rachel took one step back, "4 months ago you had _plenty _to say about me."

Rachel looked up at her with a sudden anger in her eyes that made Adelaide smirk.

"And I still do, Adelaide Martin. I have plenty to say. You're a sinner. You have always been a sinner, and you will always be a sinner. You're nothing but harlot. You're going to hell." her eyes traveled to Alex, who stood there in utter confusion "-and while you have no hope, your friend does. And I pray for him. I will pray, and hope he wont be tainted by your darkness, and I will pray for him to be cured."

Adelaide's heartbeat picked up as the blonde mentioned Alex. Her face felt hot as the anger flushed throughout her body like a tidal wave.

Alex looked to Adelaide with wide eyes "Is she talking about me?"

"My friend, huh?" her voice was low, and her hand clenched around Alex's, "My friend isn't sick. What's sick is you and your god fearing friends shoving your beliefs and judgement down my throat."

Rachel should have known better than to continue, "But he is. He's sick, he only thinks he's a homosexual, and he needs to be fixed, just like you do. So I will pray for him, just as I did for my brother."

"Your brother? Your brother was nothing but a hormonal teenage boy looking for a fucking lay." she stepped closer to the trembling girl, "You think I 'seduced him'-" The laugh that came out of Adelaide's mouth wasn't jovial, it was dark. "-well why don't you ask him what _really _happened that night."

Just as she stepped away from her, she glared at Rachel dead in the eye, making the blonde tremble in fear.

"If you _ever _talk about Alex or even look at him the wrong way, I will make your life a living hell."

* * *

"You're letting her get to you."

Adelaide and Alex were walking down the hallway, her arm in the crook of his elbow, on their way to lunch. She was ranting and he was listening. Her eyes were filled with unadulterated anger, and people made sure not to get in her way.

"What?! I am not!"

"Uh-yes you are."

Adelaide's eyes widened as she stared at him with indignation clearly written across her face... Okay, so maybe she was letting Rachel get to her.

"Did you hear what that little..-witch bitch was saying? She told me I was _damned to go to hell_ because apparently, I'm a slut. She _also _told me that _you _were going to hell, because you're gay. So yes, I got pissed, in fact, I was fucking livid, and I wanted to rip her tongue out of her head. Especially when she started talking about you, I just..." her teeth ground together as she thought about the petite blonde with wide innocent eyes, and holier than thou attitude.

The protectiveness and rage she felt was nearly overwhelming as the girl talked about Alex in a way no one should _ever _talk about him, especially in front of Adelaide. Rachel was the reason she was sent away to New York, and she only added to Adelaide's resentment towards her when she mentioned Alex.

Alex's calm voice interrupted her dangerous thoughts, "I know what she said, Addy, and trust me, she's not the first or last person, to every say that."

Her heart nearly broke then and there, "I don't care, okay? No one should call you that, or anyone that, or-" Adelaide's anger was building once again and she could feel her cheeks begin to flush and her hands clench.

"Adelaide, I know. Okay? _I know._" his voice was soft, gentle, and she looked up at him with angered eyes.

How could he just accept it? It wasn't okay, he was-he was her best friend, her brother. He didn't deserve that.

"Well, you shouldn't." she muttered angrily.

"Did I ever tell you why I really left Devenford Prep?" A sad smile crossed his face, one that angered and saddened her equal amounts. He shouldn't be sad. He shouldn't have to go through anything that made him sad. She shook her head and prepared herself for what was to come.

"I was bullied. People called me names, and they were just...complete dicks to me. I was popular before that, people liked me, they thought of me as their...like their king or something-" he gave a short, almost angry laugh, "Until someone I thought of as my friend outed me."

Adelaide's hands clenched once again as well as her jaw, her anger flared up once more as well as the protectiveness, "Who was it?" she snarled.

To her surprise, he let out a small laugh, and rolled his eyes, though she didn't know why.

"It doesn't matter who it was, okay? All that matters, is that I have you. My best friend, my sister, and maybe the only person I like more than cotton candy. Because without you, I wouldn't be able to get up in the mornings and face bullies like her." Her eyes softened and she bit her lip to keep it from quivering as he continued. "And as much of a bitch you are, you taught me that words can't hurt me unless I allow them to. And I love you for it."

As much as she hated it, her emotional side broke out, and she could feel the wetness in her eyes as her best friend said probably one of the sweetest and saddest things he had ever said to her in the hallway of the school.

_Whack!_

The side of her binder collided with his arm, "God, this is such a chick flick moment, I hate you."

A lopsided grin tugged at the side of his lips, completely unaffected by her brash ways. His boisterous laugh sounded throughout the hallway as she playfully glared at him. He asked with a baby voice, "Awww, does someone need a hug?" he opened his arms.

She whacked him once again with her binder.

"Don't touch me."

He pulled her in a tight hug anyway.

* * *

**Derek Hale wanted to find the Alpha. No, he needed to. He needed to find out who it was, and kill him. Then, he could leave. He could leave the town as it was before, peaceful, and quiet. The Hales would remain dead, and he would leave Beacon Hills as an Alpha.

The heartache would eventually go away, and the need for revenge would eventually lessen, and hopefully, the guilt would too, but even that was doubtful.

He pushed his hands into his pockets as he watched his younger cousin threaten the blonde girl with a shake of his head. His cold eyes observed the scene calculatingly.

It looked like Adelaide inherited the Hale temper. She was so fiercely protective of Alex, he could see it in the way she placed herself in front of him, as if shielding him from the harsh words the blonde girl uttered. He could hear it in the way her heartbeat sped up in anger at the mention of Alex. She was the same when she was just a little girl, so possessive, and protective of what she deemed hers.

Lydia was as much a Hale as Adelaide, but it was obvious that she had less of a temper than Adelaide. Either way, the two girls were pack. Wolf or not, them, their father, and Peter were the only other living Hales left.

He'd been watching his twin cousins since he came back to Beacon Hills. Making sure the Alpha would keep away from them. He wanted to keep them safe. He didn't want them to end up like Laura, or the rest of his family.

While he was doing that, he was also watching the boy, Scott, as he screwed up time and time again.

Scott, the teenage boy who was bitten by the Alpha while trekking around the preserve, looking for the other half of his sister's body like an idiot, along with his idiot best friend.

He rolled his eyes just thinking about them. It was like they wanted to get killed.

Derek had been through the death of nearly his whole family, he'd been through the recent death of his sister, Laura. Though he should have been grieving, he should have taken the time to hide and heal, he couldn't. There was no time for that. Not yet.

Anger slithered its way into his soul and he embraced it.

The Alpha was responsible for his sister's death, the new werewolf roaming the hallways of Beacon Hills High, and Derek's newly found determination to do one thing.

Kill the Alpha.

* * *

**sosososososo that was my first Derek Hale POV eveeer...how was it? was it okay? did you guys like it? did you guys like the chapter in general? the staddy, the stalex, the little confrontation that you guys will learn more about in the upcoming chapters? **

**Tell me everything you liked, everything you'd like to see, any questions, review review review, you can also PM me, i'll answer, promise! :D**

**Also, bigggg thank you to Monkeygonetoheaven! she's lovely, and she's just the best person ever, and she helped me out a lot with this chapter (: go check out her story Rewritten: Welcome Home Nikita Grace, it's a Stiles/OC**

**THANK YOU FOR READING! **

**xoxo Brii(:**


	10. Heart of Gold

**I really hope you guys like this chapter bc i'm actually kinda feeling like it's not as good as it could be.  
Also, thank you guys SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING AND FAVORITING AND FOLLOWING AND EVEN PMing I LOVE YOU OKAY?  
**

**Outfits on Polyvore, link on my profileeeeeee, I also started a tumblr dedicated to this story and maybe more to comeeeee (; that's also on my profile or just look for fanficbri. Haven't posted much in a little while bc i got a new laptop and i'm still trying to figure out how to do some stuff and it's confusing, sorsors. So yeah, feel free to follow and stuff, I ALSO MADE A PLAYLIST THAT'S ALSO ON MY PROFILE  
**

**okay i'm done, love you allllll ENJOY YOUR READING! (;**

**Chapter 10**

**Special Death by Mirah**

Adelaide's anger had dimmed after Alex's little speech, replaced completely with admiration for her best friend. He was able to overcome all of the name calling and bullying, he was able to ignore it, and he was able to move on from it.

His heart was made of gold and his strength rivaled that of Hercules. His radiant personality warmed her heart, as cold as it was, and she considered herself lucky to know someone was compassionate and loyal as him. There was almost nothing, or no one, in the world who could connect with her, other than Lydia, as well as Alex. They were teenagers, sure, but their connection was beyond friendship; they were family.

"This cafeteria food is shit." Alex exclaimed as he munched on a potato wedge.

"All cafeteria food is shit."

They sat along with Danny and the others as Alex complained about the dry potato wedges.

She could feel the emptiness in her stomach, bear-like noises emitted from her stomach as she quickly took her lunch. Her eyes darted around the lunch table as she took the plastic cap off the container. Someone was missing.

"Where's Allison?"

Lydia looked up at the sound of her sister's voice. Adelaide only turned back in her seat and continued to ignore her.

"She's getting something at the food stands, she'll be here any minute." she replied as she stabbed her fork into a baby carrot.

"There're food stands?" He looked at Adelaide with accusing blue eyes. "You never told me there were food stands."

Adelaide paused mid bite, "I didn't?" she pursed her lips and looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes, "Must have slipped my mind."

"I hate you." he looked down at his under cooked meatloaf with a grimace on his face as he picked at it with his plastic fork. "Are you sure this is even cooked?"

"Here, have some of mine." Danny offered with a smile as he ripped his sandwich in half and gave it to Alex, "The team definitely wouldn't appreciate it if one of the good players got food poisoning, would they?"

Adelaide observed silently from the corner of her eye. She bit her lip and rested her chin on her hand, trying to suppress the grin fighting its way to the surface as Alex accepted the food with a hearty grin.

Her eyes absentmindedly found Lydia's. Lydia was grinning too, looking at her sister with knowing eyes.

Adelaide's lips turned down and her eyes hardened.

"Hey, sorry I took so long, the line was massive."

They all looked up at Allison as she stood with her plate of food in hand and an apologetic smile on her face.

"It's fine." Lydia looked up at the girl and patted the seat next to her with a sly smile, "Now sit, we have much to discuss."

Allison's face twisted into a guilty expression, "I-I'm sorry, I promised I'd sit with Scott today..." she looked to Lydia.

Lydia stared back with shock that soon turned into steely determination.

"We'll go with you."

"Uh-I won't." Jackson raised his voice with a pointed glare on his face. "There's no way I'm sitting next to those dweebs."

"You guys really don't have to...-" Allison started. Her eyes darted between Lydia and Jackson uneasily. "I'm fine on-"

Lydia cut her off with a pointed glare at Jackson, "Nonsense. If Jackson wants to stay here_ alone_, he can stay."

Adelaide snorted into her hand when Jackson visibly pouted like a petulant child. Her crimson red lips curved upwards in a proud smile, though she hid it behind her hand, as Lydia stared her boyfriend down with an air of superiority.

"Well, I'm not g-" Adelaide started. She was going to stay, she was, but Alex decided that instead of leaving her there with her food, he would place his hand over her mouth and lift her up to drag her towards Scott and Stiles' table. "Wha-No! My food-"

"You're seriously worried about your food right now?" At her glare, he sighed and rolled his eyes, as he usually does when she does something stupid, "Jason will bring it, your food will be fine."

His arm snaked itself around her shoulder and she scowled as he squeezed her shoulders. "I hate you."

The words themselves made a bright as sunshine smile appear on Alex's face, "I hate you, too."

"You guys are _so _weird." Lydia remarked from behind her, her heels clicking rapidly against the surface of the cafeteria floor as she struggled to catch up with them.

"I think it's cute." Allison piped in with a grin.

"Wanna know what I think?" Adelaide asked sarcastically.

"Not really." Alex looked down at her with a teasing smirk and she pinched his side.

Laughing as he jerked back, nearly knocking some girl over, they neared the table where the two boys were talking. Stiles' lips were moving quickly as he flailed around, and Scott looked like he was about to have a panic attack.

"-we'll figure it out."

"Figure what out?" Lydia asked, gracefully dropping into the seat.

Adelaide was going to sit in the seat furthest from Stiles, in fact, she was already lowering herself into that exact seat, but once again, Alex dragged her to sit next to him. Which was right beside Stiles.

Just great.

She supposed the one good thing that came out of it was Alex and Danny sitting next to each other once again. That and the obvious annoyance Stiles felt towards she and him sitting next to each other.

She felt a certain joy in making him suffer.

"Uh-" Scott stuttered, "Just-uh-homework."

_Liaar, _Adelaide continued in her mind as she took her phone out to ignore the people she associated herself with on a daily.

"Why is she sitting with us?" she heard Stiles whisper and she rolled her eyes, resting her head in the palm of her hand with a sigh. Her food was still missing, and she just knew Jason wouldn't bring it.

Jackson suddenly walked to the table and slammed his trey down, right by Mike, one of the Lacrosse d-bags/man-sluts.

"Get up." he ordered. Adelaide watched, amused, as Lydia looked up at Jackson with satisfaction planted clearly on her face. Mike gaped like fish out of water.

"How come you never ask Danny to get up?" he whined.

"Because I don't stare down his girlfriend's coin slot."

Adelaide snorted unattractively, smothering her laughter when Mike glared at her. Danny and moved to sit further down the table. Jackson, once again, made sure to make his presence known by throwing his bag onto the table. The chair made a loud scraping noise as Jackson sat in it.

"What crawled up your ass?" Adelaide asked Jackson with a grin on her face.

He made a face and grumbled, "Shut up."

"So, Addy-" one of Lydia's little followers, Macy, started, "I heard about your little scuffle with Rachel...-"

Adelaide tensed, her eyes snapped up in her direction and her lips parted in surprise and her eyebrows shot up, "My scuffle with Rachel?"

"Yeah, you know, cute, blonde, little christian girl? I heard you _totally_ told her off." Her bubblegum pink lips moved rapidly with every word she was saying as she rushed to get the words out with excitement and curiosity clear in her tone.

Lydia's hair slapped Jackson's face as she swiveled to stare at the two with her immaculate eyebrows raised.

Adelaide ran her tongue over her teeth. "Who told you that?" Confusion, curiosity and anger swirled within her being.

Macy, ever the typical gossip girl, responded eagerly, her artificial crimson locks bouncing as she spoke, "Mary-Anne Walker told me. She said you called her friends, and I quote, 'God Fearing Freaks' _just_ because she bumped into you."

Adelaide's jaw dropped and her eyes darkened, she could feel heat crawl its way up her neck. Quickly, she composed herself and retorted, "Well that's...-" she took a deep breath, "-completely ridiculous." At Macy's confused stare, she rolled her eyes and clarified, "It didn't happen, and even if it did, it wouldn't be your business. Would it?"

Macy recoiled from the angered strawberry blonde and nodded, nervously stuttering, "Y-Yeah, you're right."

Adelaide smiled falsely and her fingers quickly tapped against the cafeteria table as the anger slowly drew back, replaced with irritation.

"So-" Danny started, trying to defuse the situation, "I hear they're saying there was some type of animal attack. Probably a cougar."

Her interest was piqued and her eyes lit up. The crime scene...-there was no way that could have been a mountain lion, why would it go into the bus? Why would it even be by the school? _  
_

"I heard it was a mountain lion." The idiot said.

Adelaide sighed and rolled her eyes. What a fucking dumb ass.

"A cougar is a mountain lion." Lydia countered, sounding slightly annoyed at her boyfriend's complete idiocy. She looked up when she felt the stares, and Adelaide shook her head when she played the dumb card once again. "Isn't it?"

"Yes, it is, Lydia. Besides, it couldn't have been a mountain lion."

"Wha-what makes you say that?" It was Scott who asked, much to Adelaide's and everyone else's surprise. He looked almost nervous, waiting for her answer.

"For one, it's rare for a mountain lion to attack a human-"

"But it's possible-"

Adelaide shot Stiles a glare.

"And the only reason a mountain lion _would _attack a human, was if they were to enter their territory. That bus was in the school parking lot. Not the woods."

"Who cares?" Jackson scoffed, "The guy' probably some homeless tweaker that was gonna die anyways."

"Wow, Jackson, the amount of compassion you're emitting is really warming my heart. Seriously, Jacky, when did you get so deep?" Both Lydia and Jackson rolled their eyes at her.

"Actually-" Stiles broke in, fiddling with his phone, and Adelaide glanced at him from the corner of her eye, "I just found out who it is. Check it out."

Adelaide's curiosity overpowered her and she leaned closer to him to watch the video along with everyone else.

The screen showed the crime scene Adelaide had caught a glimpse of herself with Sheriff Stilinski walking around with a frown on his face. _"The Sheriff's department won't speculate on details of the incident, but it was confirmed that the victim, Garrison Meyers, did survive the attack." _

Stiles' twitched when she breathed down his neck. Nearly her whole body was pressed against his side as she watched the scene unfold in on his small screen. She chuckled at his discomfort, earning her a sharp glare from Stiles.

A picture of the man who was attacked showed clearly on Stiles' cell phone, _"Garrison was taken to a hospital, where he remains in critical condition."_

Adelaide sat back down and furrowed her eyebrows thoughtfully.

"Wait...-" Scott was looking down at Stiles' phone with a troubled expression, "I-I-I know this guy..."

"You do?" Allison asked. She placed her hand on his shoulder, in what Adelaide guessed was to comfort him.

"Yeah, when I used to take the bus, back when I lived with my dad...he was the driver."

The whole table was quiet for a few seconds, silently reeling over the new information.

"Well that...sucks." Adelaide commented dryly. Her hand rested under her chin as she absorbed the new information. It just didn't make sense, but what was the point on dwelling on something that wouldn't affect her, right?

"Can we talk about something slightly more fun, please? Like..." she looked over at Allison, who was sitting and chewing her food innocently, "Oh, where are we going tomorrow night?"

The poor girl choked on her food, and Scott made sure to help her through that. "What?"

"You said you and Scott were hanging out tomorrow night, right?" Lydia explained.

"Emphasis on Allison and Scott. As in, only them." Adelaide piped in. It wasn't her business, but seeing the scowl directed towards her by Lydia was definitely worth it. For a second, Allison looked relieved, until Lydia continued.

"So...? What are we doing?"

Allison's face morphed into what Addy would describe as a deer in headlights expression. "Oh...-we were thinking about what we were going to do..." she answered weakly.

"Well-" she gave Jackson a meaningful look, "-I am not sitting at home again watching Lacrosse videos, so if the 4 of us are hanging out, we're doing something _fun._"

It was a disaster waiting to happen, and everyone knew it. Even Stiles, who was looking between the two and chomping down on his fries like they were to blame.

Adelaide shook her head and just turned her phone on to go on her beloved Tumblr.

She zoned out for just a few seconds as the disaster waiting to happen, happened, until Alex's name was called. Then, her interest was piqued.

"You should come!" Lydia exclaimed with a bright smile on her face, "You too, Danny. It'll be fun."

"What? No!" Alex and Danny exclaimed at the same exact time before turning to look at each other. Alex continued, completely embarrassed. "No...I mean, why would-why would we interrupt...you know? It's a double date for...you guys. You go...-date and stuff."

His cheeks were red and he rubbed the back of his neck as his baby blues darted to Adelaide for help. She chuckled and realized how beautiful the plan turned out to be. It was _perfect. _

"I think you guys should go." she started with a smile, "I mean, you both like bowling, and nachos. There's nachos at the bowling alley...and an arcade." Alex and Danny looked over at her like she was Hitler's accomplice. They were both flushed with embarrassment and Adelaide gave them her famous grin, "It'll be fun. Don't even think of it as a date...think of it as a..-a hang out. That's all you guys are doing, right? Hanging out?"

Alex blinked rapidly, as if he couldn't quite grasp the concept. "Hanging out?"

"Yes, Alex, hanging out. You know, something friends do? Hang out...-" she had to purse her lips to keep herself from grinning like a maniac. Sure, she said they were going as friends, and they were, but it would help them bond, and the more they bond, the closer they get, and the closer they get...well, the _closer _they would get.

"Friends?" Danny echoed, "We could go...as friends. Yeah, we could totally hang out...you want to hang out, right Alex?"

"Y-yeah. Let's...-hang out."

Lydia clapped her hands with a beaming grin on her face, "Great! It's settled then, we're going bowling."

"Wait-" Alex turned to Adelaide with a grin filled with mischief planted on his face, "What about Addy?"

"What about Addy?" Addy herself asked with caution.

"Who are you going with?"

"Me?" she scoffed and shook her head, "Oh, _I'm_ not going-"

"Why not?"

"Because as tempting as it sounds, I'm busy."

She rolled her lips into her mouth as Alex looked at her like he _knew _she was lying.

"With what?"

Oh shit.

Her eyes scanned the table as she looked for a reason, any reason. She really hadn't thought her little lie through. Hands clasped together as she made an excuse, or tried to, in her mind.

"Well-Uh-I...-" she leaned back just a little and accidentally bumped her shoulder into Stiles', and suddenly she found an excuse. The words slipped out of her mouth without on impulse, "I'm going to be with Stiles."

"What?" Alex and the boy in question vocalized their thoughts.

"Yep...-uh, that-oh! The project. Yes, we're going to be working on that. Lots of writing, lots of research. So, yeah-we'll be working on that."

"We are?" Stiles, ever the oblivious little shit, asked. Her foot shot out and kicked him in the shin, a glare in place. A groan/whine kind of noise escaped his throat. "We are." he croaked.

"Yeah. So, while you guys have tons and tons of fun on your little disaster date, we'll be working on out project."

"Well-" Lydia tossed her hair over her shoulder, "-your loss."

Adelaide glared at her.

* * *

**The Hale House used to be a beautiful, haunting, and dark all rolled into one. The once large, beautiful white mansion was burned and dark, covered in ash and surrounded by death.

The beautiful garden was gone. The shimmering green grass was replaced with dull patches of brown and yellow, the sunflowers and roses were replaced with dead leaves and weeds. Trees were surrounding the bewitching house, leaves raining down on the grounds of the Hale's old home.

The laughter that used to echo through the forest, the happiness that made the sun shine brighter, it was replaced with death and silence.

The wind picked up and the leaves flew around Adelaide as she stared up at it with a blank expression.

"Derek?"

All she heard was the creak of the stairs as she walked up them. She bit her lip as she looked around the porch she used to play with her cousins in. Her heartbeat thumped wildly in her chest as she looked down at the floor before running a hand through her unruly curls.

"I know you're there…even though you're _clearly_ ignoring me."

Nothing.

Her shoulders slumped as she just stood there, waiting for a lost cause.

"It's Adelaide….you know, your favorite cousin?"

She licked her lips and placed her hand on the splintering wood of the door. The clouds loomed over the house, dark and threatening. The wind picked up once again and goosebumps appeared all over her body, only it wasn't from the cold.

She could feel something, she didn't know what it was but it made her turn and look around the forest with furrowed eyebrows and calculating eyes.

All she could see were the never ending stream of trees and she thought she saw a flash of red, but she brushed it off as her mind playing tricks on her.

The door moved; she sucked in a breath and jumped back, bumping into one of the wooden beams that held the house up. Her eyes were wide and alarmed as she clenched her fists and glared up at the intruder.

"Holy...-Derek!"

Derek Hale's piercing gaze made her glower dangerously. His grey eyes void of emotion, though she could see the small twitch of his lips that signified he was at least a little happy to see her.

"You're not supposed to be here."

"Um, I'm _pretty _sure you're not supposed to be here either, considering this place is all burned down and all." she placed her hands on her hips and rolled her bright eyes.

He quirked an eyebrow at her rather sarcastic reply. A chuckle threatened to slip out, but he held it in. "Then what made you think I would be here?"

"I just thought 'where Derek Hale, the brooding 23 year old with no friends go?' and then I thought, 'oh hey, he would go to the Hale Manor because he's a fucking masochist' so here I am."

"You know, for someone so small, you sure do talk a lot."

Adelaide rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, the cold breeze had picked and she shivered as it hit her repeatedly.

She was finally talking to Derek, her cousin, her cousin that _just _lost his only sibling left, the cousin with empty grey eyes and a burned down house.

There was silence. No one spoke a word, and every swishing noise, snapping twig, or crunching leaf could be heard. The tension was thick and suffocating and they both shifted on their feet as they looked at anything but each other.

All Adelaide could see was Laura's body, feel the slippery blood on her hands and smell the death that clogged her senses.

"I found her, you know?" Adelaide paused, "Laura, I mean."

Her jaw was clenched and her hands were shaking as she tried to get the words out of her mouth, but it was proving to be hard with the way her heartbeat stuttered at just the thought, and the way Derek was looking at her wasn't helping either. He looked down at her with pity and sadness, yet he still managed to hold that bit of anger that had become a part of him since the fire.

"I-"

His jaw clenched as his eyes furrowed and his lips pursed in thought. He looked up suddenly, his eyes zeroing in on something behind her and when she turned, she saw nothing.

"You have to leave, Adelaide."

Adelaide recoiled as if she had been slapped.

"What? I just got here-"

"You have to go, _now._"

She didn't know what she had expected. She didn't know why it would be all rainbows and unicorns knowing that wasn't the way life worked, ever. She just came to see him, to see if he was okay, clearly, he was just fine.

She could feel the familiar sting of disappointment, but she pushed it down and walked away.

* * *

"You've been acting weird lately..."

Adelaide and Alex were camped out in the living room, her text books scattered around and her homework in a neat pile right beside her as she and Alex talked while he waited for Lydia to come down.

The statement was more like a question. It was said in a way that seemed more hesitant, as if he was approaching a wild animal and he was scared it would lash out. In a way, he was right.

It was as if a switch had been flipped. Her spine straightened as if the statement had whipped her into looking up. Lips pulled in and the mechanical pencil tapped against her knee mercilessly, she forced out a chuckle.

"Weird? Weird how?"

His eyes pierced right through her facade.

"You've been spacing out more than usual, suspicious calls, and what's going on with you and Lydia? Adelaide, I'm worried about you."

She licked her lips and clenched her jaw tightly. The air was thick with silence that spoke volumes. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but nothing would come out.

She wished she could tell him something, seek some comfort in him, her best friend, her brother, but she couldn't. All she could do was sit there and stare at him with hard eyes.

"I-" she let out a harsh breath, "I'm fine." He gave her a disbelieving scowl in return. "Alex, I'm _fine. _In fact, I'm great, and I couldn't be happier." she lied straight through her teeth.

"Alex, are you ready?"

Lydia walked down the stairs in her flat shoes and cute outfit. Her hair was curled to perfection and her make up was applied as to only enhance her features just slightly. Her bubblegum lips were pulled back into a prim smile, her eyes shining and her cheeks a rosy pink as she looked at Adelaide in unspoken apologies.

"Yeah…" he sighed, looking back and forth between the twins suspiciously.

Adelaide narrowed her eyes at her sister as soon as she walked into the room. It was as if the anger she held towards her sister had dammed into a natural irritation she couldn't seem to shake away. She realized soon enough that being angry at her sister wouldn't do anything but stir more trouble than what the situation was really worth. Not only that, but they would be arguing over their father; he definitely didn't deserve the energy they would waste in being angry. So when Adelaide looked back up at her sister with her gleaming colbat eyes, they came across a silent agreement.

"Lydia Martin, are you wearing _Vans_?" _  
_

"Please-" Lydia scoffed, "They're _Coach_."

* * *

Adelaide didn't think Stiles would actually show up to her house to work on their project. She though he would just ignore it entirely and work it out on his own while she did the same, but he didn't and she didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

So when he showed up at her door with his backpack in hand and a hint of a scowl on his face all she could do was roll her eyes and stand there.

"I didn't think you would actually show."

He blinked and looked at her as if she was the stupidest person on earth.

"Wow…-uh, you think?"

Adelaide pulled the door open and glared at him. "Just come in, idiot"

Stiles wasn't really paying attention to her voice, or her for that matter. He was paying attention to the house that was so much bigger when there weren't hundreds of teenagers around it. The white ceilings were sky high, his converse squeaked against the marble floor. But that wasn't what caught his attention. It was the lack of pictures. The lack of family in the house. Everything was clean and pristine, not one thing out of place. It was cold and detached: it was sad.

Adelaide lead him to the spiral staircase with cautious eyes. She was watching him as he took it all in. He had this look on his face; it was like he was analyzing everything, taking it all in. His jaw was slack but his eyes were sharp, like they were reading.

Her eyes rolled and she ran up the rest of the stairs to reach her room with him following. She opened her door and walked in.

Stiles wandered around her room. The maroon walls littered with different posters of things she liked. Baseball, Batman, Wrestling, The Smiths…etc. Everything was clean, her bed was made, and there were pictures on her night stands and books in her bookshelves. Her room was nothing like the rest of the house, it was lived in, it was homey, it was…Adelaide.

"Are you just gonna stand there, or…?"

"Uh-" Stiles blinked so fast Adelaide thought his eye lids would fall of, unfortunately, they didn't. "-yeah…so? Is there a problem with standing? Standing's actually one of the most…-"

"Stiles, I can't seem to find a shit to give about whatever irrelevant fact you were about spew out of your mouth."

He looked back at her with furrowed eyebrows and a screwed up expression, like he'd eaten something sour. "You're such a bitch."

Adelaide's eyes lifted up to meet his and her lip twitched up into a smirk, "I know."

She took her bag and flipped it upside down, watching as all of its contents fell out. Her nose scrunched up and a chuckle escaped her lips as two tampons fell out with her books. Stiles was staring at her with his mouth agape. Blotches of pink colored his cheeks and he scratched his neck awkwardly as she put them back into her bag.

"Uh-I…-uh, well, that-"

"-was something that never needs to be brought up again, yeah?"

"Y-yeah, totally."

"Great. So-" she gestured to the textbooks in his hand, "-we won't be needing those. I have books on all types of plants and stuff in the library and the textbook doesn't provide much information."

"You have a library?"

"Yeah…-so what do you wanna do this project on?" Her eyes settled on his bag as he took some of his own things out. A purple flower she recognized immediately was clasped in his hand and she scrunched her nose as the scent wafted through it. It burned her nose and her lips turned down into a grimace. Her hands fisted into her sheets as she backed away.

"It's called Aconite, but it's usually known as-"

"Wolfsbane."

His head snapped up, his eyes wide and his jaw slack.

"I'm highly allergic, so please, save a life and put it back in your bag."

"Oh…_OH_-shit, sorry. I didn't know…"

Her tense muscles relaxed as the scent drifted away, clenched fists settled calmly. "It's fine. So, we'll work on that as long as it isn't within 20 feet of me, kay?"

"…kay"

* * *

"I can't believe someone like you actually likes Batman."

"Someone like me?"

They worked on their projects for two hours when Adelaide and Stiles' decided they were hungry and in need of food before they tore each other apart. So they went downstairs after ten minutes of banter. It only took Stiles' two seconds for him to notice her Batman socks when they finished, and one to notice the different posters of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy scattered across her room.

Her social status and the way she carried herself, as if she cared about nothing at all, made him think that maybe she was just a careless brat that really only cared about herself. Apparently, she also cared about Batman. And Baseball, and Wrestling, and family, and music. He would even go as far as saying that she was cool, but he didn't because that would be admitting that she was someone he wouldn't mind hanging out with, which she wasn't.

Because she was still a bitch.

"W-What?"

"What do you mean 'someone like me'?"

With her eyebrows raised expectantly and her lips pulled delicately into her mouth, it was then that he realized she was fucking terrifying. Her eyes settled on him with a glare that could put Derek Hale to shame.

"I…-No, i just meant someone that's like-I mean…-I don't mean it as a bad thing, just-"

Adelaide's lips quirked up, her chin settled calmly into her palm as he fumbled and stuttered to form a coherent sentence. His whiskey colored eyes were pouring with panic, his arms were moving sporadically with every word that stumbled out of his mouth.

"Stiles...I was kidding."

He stopped abruptly, his eyes narrowing on her with betrayal and annoyance. His hands were frozen in the air and they dropped as her grin only widened. "You're such a…ugh."

Suddenly, she was laughing and he nearly jumped out of the stool he was sitting. Her laugh, it was loud and boisterous. Every note was pitched differently, like her voice just couldn't decide what it wanted to be. She laughed the way he'd expect someone that was more like himself to laugh; with her whole body. Her shoulders shook and her eyes gleamed, her hands clutched onto her thighs tightly as her feet dangled above the ground, her bun loosened with every laugh and her cheeks were red, her dimples were on full display and he knew then that he'd never heard a laugh as ridiculous as hers, but he didn't hate it.

"Oh my-your face. Stiles, holy shit-"

Her laughter simmered down and her smile stayed in place as he stared at her as if she was from an entirely different planet. "What?"

"Nice laugh." he snorted unattractively as she punched his shoulder roughly. It actually hurt. A lot. "Ow!"

"Don't be such a baby."

He rolled his eyes and took a sip of the tea she brought out of her fridge.

The doorbell rang and the mood went from playful to confused in a matter of seconds. Her grin slipped completely off her face as she looked in the direction of the door with surprise.

"Were you expecting someone?"

"No. I'll be right back."

Adelaide didn't expect anyone for the rest of the night, and even if Lydia were to come back, she had the key and there would be no need to knock. The doorbell rang once again and she hurried her pace with annoyance burning hot through her veins.

"Coming!" Her cloth covered feet glided across the wooden floor with ease and grace.

She opened the door harshly and abruptly, her eyes rolling as the door opened and the words 'what the hell' on the tip of her tongue, but it all went away as she caught sight of who was on the other side of the threshold. Her jaw was slack and her eyes were wide, her mouth parted in a quiet gasp. She was stripped of oxygen for just a second.

She stared into her own eyes.

The air slipped in through the door, hitting her body roughly and a shiver racked through her body, but it wasn't only from the cold. Anger withered its way into her veins and her jaw clenched as she glared at the man that had only caused her pain.

"_Dad._"

* * *

**DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNN**

**So, everything is gonna go at a faster pace bc i realized i suck and i was dragging this shit on for much to long and I'm sorry my loves D:**

**Adelaide's dad is back in beacon hills and dramadramadramaaaaaaaaaaa. Next chapter, I will gauranteeeeeeeeee, I PROMISE YOU GUYS, there will be some insight on her past with her dad and what happened and stuffy stuff and hopefully you guys like it bc i'm planning this out very thoroughly.**

**alsoooo, i'm done editing, and I HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU GO BACK AND READ bc a lot has changed, well not that much, but I guess i'll just tell you that her dad no longer has a wife and i forgot what else i added? sorrrrrryyyyy, guess you'll just have to go back and check, huh? (;**

**sorry for the insanely long authors note to, babesss, AND SORRY I TOOK SO LONG.  
Reviewww and favorite and folllooow and PM me bc i love talking to you guys and you guys really make me so happy with your lovely words (: **

**xoxo Brii(:**


	11. Fire and Ice

**kay, so the italics are gonna be like flashbacks. It's a reaaaalllly important part of the story, and if it confuses you, please say something and i'll try my best to explain it, yeah?  
****Outfits are on my profile, polyvore link is right thereee, also tumblr link and I MADE A PLAYLIST, the link is also on my profile, and i'll be making another one that you guys hopefully will like.  
****BIG THANKS TO MONKEYGONETOHEAVEN I LOVE YOU, OKAY!?**

**ALSO MEL(GUEST): sometimes it takes a while for me to update bc I'm in school rn and i'm in a sport and it takes a lot of my writing time, and i'm so sorry to disappoint, but i don't update as often as i wish i did. During the summer, though…(; also thank you! i wish i could PM you so we could talk more D; **

**Chapter 11**

**Time by Hans Zimmer**

_"Daddy, I wanna go see Laura!" _

_Adelaide's small feet stomped as she fixed her dad with a glare. Her strawberry blonde curls framed her face and her long lashes skimmed her chubby cheeks every time she blinked. _

_"Sweetheart, Laura's in school right now, we'll go in a bit, okay?" _

_"No, I wanna go now." _

_"Adelaide…" he groaned. His hands ran over his face as he stared into the eyes identical to his own. Her lip was trembling and her eyes were wide and innocent. "No, no, no. Don't do that." he whined as tears gathered in her eyes. "Don't fall for it, Richard. You can do it-" but just one look at her precious face, he crumbled. "Okay! Okay, we'll go." _

_Her tears receded, her lips pulled back into a happy grin that had her dimples showing. She ran towards him with an excited squeal, her small arms reaching out to hug his legs. "Thank you, daddy. I love you." _

_A smile lit his features, warmth surging through his veins, love filling his heart, he reached down and pulled her too him, kissing her forehead delicately. "I love you too, baby."_

Adelaide didn't know what it was. She didn't know what the emotion setting fire to her body was.

She didn't know what made her dig her nails so far into her own palm that they drew blood. Her jaw was clenched, her teeth grinding angrily and her body still as a board.

"Hey, hon."

He only smiled in return, choosing to ignore the glare that could kill thousands and set them all on fire. He ignored the clenching fists and walked right into the house, carefully avoiding Adelaide's shoulder.

Adelaide just stood there, staring at the empty space behind the threshold. Air replaced the place of her father, the wind blew again and she still stood there with her eyes empty and her mind reeling.

"Adelaide."

Her head snapped up at the sound of her fathers' voice. His eyes stared right at her, and she shivered. Because their eyes were the same, and if their eyes were the same, what else? What else could be the same other then their physical appearance, other than their steel blue eyes. How alike were they?

She took a deep breath, "I don't know why you're here, but I…-" she stopped. The anger was gone. It disappeared and now all that was left was…nothing. She didn't want to think, she didn't want to _feel._ So for the time being, she would ignore his presence and tell Stiles to leave, "You can use one of the guest bedrooms."

And she walked away.

* * *

The dark road was illuminated by a desolate streetlamp. The moon was floating proudly in the sky, the wind was shifting between the leaves sitting on the trees that surrounded the roads of Beacon Hills.

People had retired into the safety of their homes, hiding from the sinister night and the monsters that lurked. The street was abandoned, lost in its own darkness, no cars drove by and dared disrupt the screaming silence.

All but one.

A charcoal colored Camaro sped down the road, bright headlights breaking through the darkness and roaring engine filling the silence. A man with colbat blue eyes sat behind the wheel, his free arm sticking out of the window as the other worked with the steering wheel. His chiseled jaw was clenched, his eyes were hard as he pressed harder on the gas.

"Damnit, Derek." he mumbled angrily.

His car halted in front of an abandoned warehouse. The ebony sky loomed over it, the stars glaring and the moon glittering.

Expensive leather shoes stepped onto the cracking cement, slacks swayed with the movement as he stepped out of the car fully. His hands went to fix his suit jacket, his mouth set into a thin line and his eyes sharp as a knife.

His sensitive ears caught a masculine grunt and the sound of clothing dragging against cement. He walked purposefully towards the sound, shoes clicking harshly against the hardened floor until he stopped in front of another man withering in pain. He crouched down and looked into the pained eyes of Derek Hale.

Shivering and panting, he lay against the cold stone wall. "R-Richard-"

Said man reached out and touched Derek's arm, gripping tightly and watching as black matter slithered up his veins. "What the fuck happened?"

Derek slumped against the wall, temporary relief flooded him. "The Argents."

Richard's lip curled back into a vicious snarl. "Fucking bastards." His hand reached carefully for Derek, winding beneath his armpits to help him up. Shifting all of Derek's weight onto him, he took them to his car. "Did you see who it was?"

"I was too busy getting shot to pay attention."

Richard rolled his eyes, thumping the back of Derek's head, ignoring his yelp, "Don't get smart with me, I'm still your uncle."

His eyes wandered occasionally towards Derek's shaking form, his eyebrows drawn into a frown. He hated seeing him in pain, he hated that Derek was put in this situation _again_. A situation where he had to run for his life when he should be enjoying his life, acting like normal people his age. He didn't deserve the life that's been handed to him.

Looking at Richard from the corner of his eye, Derek asked, "Why are you back?"

Lips set into a thin line, his voice droned out, "My only niece dies, my daughter comes back for suspicious reasons, my nephew seeks revenge on the new Alpha, and the mongrels that killed my family are within a 5 mile radius of the only family I have left, and you're asking my why I'm back?" His knuckles strained against his skin as he clutched onto the wheel to the point of nearly breaking. Fire coiled in his gut as he thought about his family being exposed to the danger that came along with the Argents again. He could feel the urge to rip them apart crawling just beneath his skin.

"So, what? You want to protect them? Us? Beacon Hills? My sister died and your daughter found her body. The hunters are back, and we're_ Hales_. Adelaide and Lydia? They're Hales to, and sooner or later it's going to catch up to them, just like it did with us."

A cloud of rage looms in Derek's words. Every word he said was laced darkness and honesty, though heartbreaking and tragic, they held a truth to them that could never be taken away.

Richard bit his lip, the trees engulfed them as they enter the forest. A sinister darkness crawled above them. His voice deep, a growl deep in his chest merging with his words. Malice coiled tightly in the air.

"And I'll kill anyone who tries to hurt them."

* * *

_"Tata, I really want cookies." _

_"Sorry, kiddo, your dad said no more sugar for you."_

_Adelaide ran to her aunt, her giggles sounding in the kitchen like chiming bells on a christmas morning. Her big, baby blues were glinting as they blinked up at Talia with faux innocence, "Daddy doesn't have to know." _

_Talia Hale looked down at the girl with hidden amusement. Her exotic features were light with happiness. "You little devil." Her arms circle around Adelaide's form, picking her up and setting her on the counter as Adelaide watches with her lips quirked up into a satisfied grin. "Fine. I'll give you one, but…" Talia holds up a finger, and with a quirk of her immaculate eyebrows, she points back towards the dining room. "You have to go out into the dining room and set up the table so we can all eat dinner soon, yes?"_

_Adelaide's small hands grip at her aunts cheeks, "Thank you, Tata!" she lands a kiss on Talia's chin and jumps off the counter, running to the dining room with the excitement only a young girl like her could possess._

_"What's up, little one?" _

_Peter Hale sauntered into the the dining room as Adelaide climbed on top of the chairs to set the plates. Her unruly curls moving from side to side as she jumped off. _

_Adelaide scowled as Peter pinched her chubby cheeks, stomping her foot and jutting her chin out, "I'm not little."_

_He ruffled her hair, ignoring her squeal of protest. "You're definitely little, sweetie." He grabbed her and set her on his hip, her laugh echoing in the house, loud and ridiculous, yet beautiful and delicate. "Alright, little one, let's go to the basement. The family's down there playing games.__"_

_Hours later everyone but Adelaide's father was in the basement. The adults watching fondly as the kids played roughly, playful growls emitting from their small mouths. _

_Adelaide had Cora in a lock her father taught her. Her hands positioned in a way that wouldn't allow Cora to escape, her eyes shining and her laughs joining in with the growls. "I got yo-!" _

_She stopped._

_Her hold loosened and Cora got out of it, pouncing on the smaller girl with a mocking smile on her face. _

_Adelaide was still, her body didn't react, her colbat eyes were blank and staring straight through Cora. _

_"Addy?" _

_Cora jumped off of Adelaide, her big doe eyes wide and scared. _

_Adelaide stood quietly, her hands shaking and her lips trembling as she clutched at her constricting chest._

_"Daddy!" she screamed, but he wasn't there. _

_"Adelaide, baby, what's wrong?" Talia caressed the young girl's head, concern filling her being, pouring into her touch. _

_Adelaide didn't know what it was at the time, she still didn't know, but she felt something. A stabbing pain, right through her chest. Her stomach was clenching as fear coiled deep in her stomach. The air was swirling with red and orange fumes; mocking and dangerous. _

_Suddenly, glass was shattering and people were screaming. Real fire engulfed them_

_"DADDY!"_

* * *

Adelaide went the rest of her night, and the morning, ignoring her father. She ignored the plea in his eyes, the twitch of his hand when he tried to reach for her. She ignored the clench of his jaw when she refused him time and time again. She ignore _him_ because he ignored her for 6 years.

Her father suddenly _cared. _Or, at least he pretended to. It was all fake; the quiet desperation, the hurt, the love. It was all a delusion. A fake swirl of emotion that made her want to hurt him because Richard Hale was a cold hearted bastard and he didn't care. He never did.

Adelaide wanted to say she didn't care either, she wanted to say that she didn't feel the pressure on her chest or the pinch in her stomach. She wanted to say she didn't care, but she couldn't because everything was still there. In that little box she kept locked and stored. There was a crack in the box, a crack big enough to let her hear the snakes hidden in it. Slithering and hissing, threatening and dangerous.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to kick and punch and sob, she wanted to rip her fathers' eyes out and hurt him in a way that couldn't be reversed. She wanted to break him like he broke her, but she didn't because she couldn't.

Because anger was still an emotion, and anger meant she _cared_. And in the end, caring would destroy her.

"Miss Martin, am I boring you?"

Her head snapped up, ponytail slapping against her face roughly as her eyes connected with Mr. Harris'. Her hands were clasped together, nails digging into the skin of her palms subconsciously. Eyes wide and her mind blank, she responded with quietly with no emotion.

"No."

Her eyes fluttered against her cheeks as she looked down at the crescent moon indents on her palms left by her fingernails. She could feel eyes burning into the side of her face, and turned to meet the whiskey colored eyes of Stiles. "What?" she whispered harshly.

His eyes were unfocused, but he jumped in surprise when he realized she'd caught him. Her jaw worked angrily, she bit the inside of her lip as he sat there and stared at her like she wasn't from this world.

"S-sorry…it's just-you haven't insulted me in 30 minutes."

Adelaide blinked, surprise etched into her expression as Stiles looked down at her with pursed lips and curious eyes.

He was genuinely surprised, and the though made her lips turn up just slightly. "What? You miss my beautiful voice already?"

He recoiled and scoffed, rolling his eyes, "Me? Miss _Adelaide Martin's_, resident she-devil, voice? Please, in fact, I was actually hoping this would be a permanent thing."

"You can definitely get over that, Stilinski."

"Whatever, _Martin_."

And for a second, the tiniest smile appeared on her face.

* * *

"Lydia!"

Adelaide's convers slapped against the linoleum floors of BHHS. She was speed walking in hopes of catching up to her twin sister, who was crowded by people she didn't even want to _know _the names of.

"Fucking shit, Lyd." her pace quickened and she shoved the people away from her as she stepped up to Lydia. She grabbed her arm tightly, but not tight enough to actually hurt her.

"We need to talk."

Her eyes were like the ocean, deep and mesmerizing, her mouth moving quickly as she looked down at her twin, "_Now_"

Lydia followed after her with furrowed eyebrows. "What going on, Ads?"

Adelaide stopped by the stairs, her body tense. Her hair was up in a messy, braided pony, usually bright eyes were dull and tired. Her mouth was pulled down into a permanent frown.

"Dad's back."

The sentence was short and unforgiving. A deafening silence followed straight after.

"I'm sorry, did you just say what I think you just said?" Lydia's green eyes were wide as she struggled to process the words. It took a lot for Lydia Martin to be surprised, but that was definitely enough.

"Yeah, I know. He just…-showed up out of freaking nowhere."

Lydia flipped her hair away from her face, eyebrows drawing down into a frown that looked misplaced on her usually grinning face.

Adelaide's eyes flitted up to meet hers, "I don't want him here, Lydia. And I know that you don't either, but…-I can't, we can't, do anything about it. He won't leave."

And for once, Lydia saw just a glimpse of emotion in Adelaide's eyes, but it was gone as soon as it appeared.

"We'll just have to deal with his presence, then."

They didn't notice Derek Hale listening from just behind the walls.

* * *

_**Flames flickered against their skin, smoke slithered into their lungs, it burned their eyes. The flames were high and angry, snapping at them. _

_"CORA! OLIVIA!" _

_Talia was shouting, she was screaming for her children, her family, her _pack_, at the top of her lungs. Her eyes were red, searching and pleading. The flames licked at her skin, burning and blistering._

_Adelaide cried out as a piece of wood fell against her arm, burning through the delicate skin easily as she withered away from the flaming beam. The heated floor was burning through her clothes, the skin __beneath her shirt reddening. Her cries for help were unheard, her nails digging into the floor as she struggled to stand._

_Something bubbled inside her chest. It sizzled just beneath her skin, and stabbed straight through her chest. Panic seized her body, licking and biting at her soul as she struggled for a breath. _

_She whimpered and crawled away from the fallen beam. _

_"Adelaide!"_

_Adelaide's eyes fluttered open. She was blinded by brightness, her hand coming up to shield her face only to have something hold it back. Her eyes eventually adjusted and she looked around to see machines and wires connected to her small body. Patches of skin were hidden beneath gauze and medicine. She tried to sit up, but instead yelped when a stabbing pain bloomed in her abdomen. _

_"She's awake!" _

_Suddenly, there were people running towards her, people she didn't know with white lab coats and stethoscopes wrapped around their necks. Once again, she tried to sit up, but the pain held her back. _

_"It's okay, sweetie, you're okay. I just have to check a few things, alright?" _

_A woman with a kind smile and warm eyes stepped out of the herd of doctors. Instead of a white lab coat and an analytical expression she wore bright scrubs and a reassuring presence. Her dark curls and chocolate eyes reminded her of Tata._

_"Where's daddy?"_

_"I'm right here, baby."_

_Her pale, chapped lips quirked to the side as she heard her father's voice. He ordered the weird people with the white lab coats to go away and took her small hand in his. She ignored the big thing on her index finger and chose to look up at him instead. _

_"Daddy, where am I?" _

_He looked up at her. Her face was bruised, her body was covered to hide the burns that would thankfully heal and leave no scars. All except for the one on her abdomen. He felt a familiar sting in his eyes as he clutched onto her hand just a little tighter to reassure himself that she was there. _

_His daughter was alive._

_But the others' weren't. _

_"You're in the hospital, baby." _

_His words were choked, but she only furrowed her eyebrows and looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes. He wished she could keep that innocence, he wished that she wouldn't remember, that she wouldn't feel the crippling pain that would eventually come along._

_"Why?"_

_She didn't remember, the doctors said that would happen, but it would come back soon. He knew it would, and he knew it would destroy her._

_His thumb caressed her palm lightly, he bit his lip and looked back up at his daughter. His voice cracked, "There was an accident." _

_Her hand suddenly clutched onto his tightly. Her eyes wide and fearful, lips trembling lightly. "Did I get a boo-boo?" It was a childish question, but he knew. He knew she felt the pain in her abdomen and he knew she was starting to remember. He knew by the way her breathing picked up. _

_"Yeah, baby, you got a boo-boo." _

_"Daddy?" Her voice sounded so small, so broken, so vulnerable. _

_"Yeah, baby?"_

_He bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. He tried not to think about his dead family, his wounded daughter, about his nephew and his niece. He wanted everything to go back to normal, he wanted to go back and save them. _

_A lone tear slipped down his face._

_Her small hand, shaky and bruised, wiped the tear away._

_"Why are you crying?" _

_A broken sob escaped his lips and he brought her hand to his lips. _

_"I'm so sorry." _

_He could hear it again. The rise in her heartbeat. The monitors were beeping loudly, her breathing was escalating. _

_"D-daddy, where's Tata? I want Tata." _

_Adelaide's eyes were scanning every inch of the room, she could feel herself trembling in her father's hold, she could hear his broken sobs and she could feel the heat of the fire as the memories slowly engulfed her. _

_"Addy-"_

_His voice was so sad. _

_"I want Tata!" _

_Fire flickered in her mind, screams echoed in her eyes, smoke burned her nose. _

_Her breathing picked up and she felt a pressure right on her chest. "Tata!" she tried to breathe but she couldn't even think properly. _

_Fire._

_Screams._

_Smoke._

_The pressure increased, it felt like someone was stabbing and pushing at the same time. The knife was digging further into her heart. _

_"Adelaide, calm down…DOCTORS!" _

_Everything was blurring together, her eyes were watering and the stabbing in her chest only got worse and worse. _

_She struggled for a breath as Cora's fearful eyes and desperate cries echoed in her mind. _

_Hands were at her sides, gripping and pulling her down to the bed as she tried to sit up in a panic. _

_But she couldn't see them, she could only see the flames as they got closer to her. She could only feel the heat against her body and the crippling fear that came with it. _

* * *

"Let me use your phone."

"What…-why!?

"Stiles! Just give me the damn phone."

Derek sat in the seat, wheezing and sweating. The pain trickled up his arm like pins an needles. He knew it was only a matter of time before the poison reached his heart and killed him completely. His veins were protruding from his arm, slithering down towards the bullet wound like snakes. With each movement he made the ache in his arm turned into a blazing fire, burning through his veins until that was all he could feel.

Stiles reluctantly handed the phone to Derek, his eyes rolling as the werewolf struggled to even press the buttons.

"Richard, I need your help."

His arm shook with the effort as he held it up to his ear, he'd never felt so weak in his entire life. A pulse of pain sent waves into his head.

Derek moaned into the phone, the pain reverberating through his body as his arm moved. "Meet me at the animal clinic." he finished before hanging up and tossing the phone towards Stiles.

"Who's Richard?"

Derek looked down at his pulsating arm, veins dark and wound bloody before looking back up at Stiles with hard eyes.

"Someone who can help."

* * *

"Whoever thought it was a good idea to leave the door to the clinic open while it clearly says _'Closed' _is a fucking idiot."

Richard Hale walked into the room, leather boots clicking against the stone floor of the animal clinic. His eyebrows were pulled down into a frown, his electric eyes scanning every nook and cranny of the small space. "Quite ironic that you picked the _animal clinic_." His eyes lifted to meet those of Derek Hale, sympathy coloring his features. "You look like shit."

"Wh-what? Who the _hell _are you?"

Honey colored eyes stared at the man with eyes so familiar with disbelief_, _but he took the words back as soon as they came out because the glare that was aimed towards Stiles nearly killed him.

Stiles didn't know who it was, but he knew that he was dangerous as soon as he came in. His presence reminded him of Derek, only worse. There was an aura that surrounded him, dark and twisted that made the hairs on the back of his neck rise. His eyes were a brilliant blue, calculating and sharp, like they were ready for a fight.

"I'm Richard Hale, who the hell are you?"

"Stiles." Derek called out in hopes that the hyperactive teenager would stop his interrogation and do something useful.

"There's more of you!?"

"STILES!"

Derek's skin was a ghastly white, pasty and sweaty. The rancid scent of death wafted stung Richard's nose as Derek moved closer with his lip pulled down into a painful grimace.

Richard rolled his eyes as Derek fumbled around the room, looking for anything to relieve his pain. He walked towards the panting werewolf, his arm latching onto the wound tightly.

Ignoring the pained growl that escaped Derek's lips or the disgusted grimace that colored Stiles' face, he drew some of the pain out from Derek's wound, ignoring the poison that traveled up his arm before disappearing completely.

Stiles watched in sick awe as his veins darkened and protruded, slithering up his skin like snakes.

"What the…-what was _that_!?"

His question was left unanswered as the chaos erupted once again. Derek was pulling off his shirt in a panic, his arm was protesting wildly, the pain burning him, but the piece of cloth was rubbing against his skin in a way that felt his skin crawl. It was as soon as he allowed himself a peaceful moment when a harsh blare startled his over sensitive ears.

He glared at Stiles over the ringing in his ears, but the boy ignored him and looked down at his phone with confusion written across his face.

"Does Nordic Blue Monkshood mean anything to you?"

"It's a rare form of wolfsbane-" Derek struggled for a breath of air. "He needs to bring me the bullet."

The pain was slowly returning, he knew the relief would only last a few minutes, but those few minutes were like heaven on earth.

Richard turned and faced the wall, his jaw clenched tightly as his hands clutched onto the wood, cursing the Argents. His whole life, all they'd done was torture werewolves and try to kill them all despite their little code of honor that was hardly ever executed. They were just killers with whispers of broken promises. They'd proved that the day they set fire to his family.

"Why?"

"Because he'll die without it."

* * *

Adelaide's eyes were dark and calculating, studying the words carefully as she struggled to put it all together. Her pencil tapped rapidly against the spine of her math textbook. She chewed her lip, her eyes moving swiftly to the harsh gaze Alex was giving her.

"What?"

Alex looked down, a crease forming in between his eyebrows as he frowned, "You're distracted."

"Yeah, you keep staring at me, of course I'm distracted." She snapped without meaning too, but she didn't take it back. She was splitting at the seams, her mind was reeling and her heart was dropping with each minute that passed. Alex wasn't the one distracting her, in fact, it was far from that. It was the suspenseful silence that echoed in her house, waiting for the man she wanted out to come and ruin her life some more. It was the fact that she was sitting on her bed, doing homework with her best friend while her father was back in Beacon Hills.

The fact was just so surreal; she had never imagined he would come back home, no not home. Not for him, not anymore.

"You've been staring at the same problem for the last 10 minutes, Adelaide, what's wrong?"

She chewed at her lip as her eyes landed on his expectant and worried expression. "Nothing's wrong…-just tired. I haven't been sleeping very much lately." It wasn't a lie. Nightmares had been plaguing her sleep, darkening the skin beneath her eyes and ebbing at the corners of her mind.

"Maybe I should leave…-you need to sleep, Ads."

She latched onto his wrist in a moment of panic. She didn't want him to leave, she didn't want to be left alone in the house if her father was going to be there too. It was cowardly and she was being evasive, but she didn't want to face the issue at hand. Lydia wouldn't be back until later on, and until then she would be alone if Alex left. "Don't." she nearly yelled.

"Adelaide?"

Alex stared harder, his eyes raking over her entire form as she sat there, tense.

She snatched her hand back and bit her lip, "No…-yeah, you're right. I just need some rest."

"Adelaide, are you sure you're okay?"

She was okay, or maybe she wasn't, she wasn't quite sure. She didn't want to be alone, but she didn't want to…hell, she didn't know what she wanted. So instead she just gave him a reassuring grin.

"Of course I'm okay, I just need some sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

She stood and walked him to the front door of her house after packing up their things. "Okay, well…-" he hugged her tightly, her body molding against his perfectly. His heartbeat was reassuring in her eyes as she pressed her ear closer to it. "I love you."

Her bottom lip was sucked into her mouth as she let him go. A false grin overtook her face as she pushed him across the threshold.

"Don't be such a sap."

He chuckled low in his chest before walking away, turning only to say, "Get some sleep!"

* * *

Derek pulled Stiles towards him by the collar of his shirt, his eyes glaring and his nostrils flared like a bull ready to attack. His lips pulled back into a snarl, "CALL SCOTT!"

He looked down at the metal table, his chest heaving as his body tried and failed to heal itself. Instinct was telling him to shift, to run to his pack and let them heal him, but he couldn't. They were dead.

His stomach churned violently, a violent tremor crawled just beneath his skin, his lips parted as he felt something struggle to climb out of his throat. He could taste the blood as it leaked into his mouth, dribbling down his chin before he leaned across the table. Black blood stained the pure white floor as it spewed out of his mouth.

"Shit."

Richard placed a soothing hand on the sick werewolf's back, silently siphoning some of the pain away.

"Holy god…-_What the hell is that?_"

Richard glared at the insolent teenage boy, his icy eyes shooting daggers at him as his lip lifted into a snarl to reveal his sharpened canines. "Listen here, you little shit, you're going to call your friend _now_, I don't care if he's out fucking the little Argent _bitch, _my nephew is _dying _and I swear to all that is fucking holy, _I will kill that ungrateful little brat _if he doesn't get off his werewolf ass and get the god damn bullet to us now!" His breathing was quick and harsh, the growl in his voice forced Stiles to gulp in fear and pick the phone up to call Scott.

"That wasn't necessary."

He looked down at Derek, his eyebrows pulling down into a scowl, "It is when your life is on the line."

* * *

Once again, Derek was digging through the drawers and cabinets of Dr. Deaton's office, ignoring the pain and focusing on the task at hand. If Scott didn't come to him soon, he would have to count on his last resort.

"What are you doing?"

Stiles' curious voice sounded out as Derek found what he was looking for; a hand saw. He walked towards the table with sluggish movements, placing it down onto it and ignoring Stiles' frantic eyes. "Last resort." he mumbled through a wince. "You're gonna cut my arm off."

He made a noise of complaint, his lip curled up in disgust. "What? Why can't _he _do it?" He pointed at Richard, his hand reeling back at the glare that was pointed at him. The man was seriously intimidating, but he didn't see the point in a human like him doing it when there was a _werewolf _standing right by him that wasn't injured and probably had a higher tolerance for gore.

"Are you kidding me?" Richard stepped forward, carefully avoiding the puddle of black blood. "This is John Varvatos."

Derek's snort of amusement and Stiles' scoff made his lips tilt up into a mocking smirk. "Better hope your friend gets here on time."

* * *

When Scott did get there, Stiles' finger was hovering just above the trigger button.

"Wh-What the hell are you _doing_!?"

He was panting, dark eyes flitting around the entire room in a rush when they landed on the hand saw in Stiles' hand and the man with his hands and Derek's shoulders, black matter running up his veins in a steady rhythm.

"Oh, thank god." Stiles let out a sigh of relief. His body sagged and he threw the saw away from him like it was a disease. "_Oh, _you just prevented a lifetime of nightmares."

Derek and Richard both sighed out of relief. He really didn't want to live the rest of his life without one of his arms.

Everyone was in a panicked state, especially Scott. He was rushing to help, rushing to make sure Derek wouldn't die because as much as he may have hated him, he didn't want him to die. He wasn't really aware of anything but his deteriorating heartbeat, so he took the bullet out of his pocket and ignored the new presence completely.

"What are you gonna do with it?"

Derek clutched onto the metal table for support. A wave of dizziness hit him along with another round of pain, Richard's siphoning wasn't enough anymore, the poison was just inches from reaching his heart; he was going to die.

"I'm gonna-" he swallowed thickly, wincing and flinching as the pain reached an entirely new level. "I'm gonna-" Darkness was edging at the corners of his eyes, threatening to consume him whole; and it did.

Richard was there to catch him as he fell back, his eyes rolled into the back of his head. A wave of panic shot through him like ice.

"Derek!" Richard shouted, his hands clutched Derek's chin tightly, shaking and hoping for him to regain consciousness. "Derek, wake up!" His attempts to wake him were in vain, his eyes clouded over with a mist of rage. He looked back at the teenagers, growling as they stood there and watched with a sick awe and prominent fear. "GET THE BULLET!"

His ears reached for the thump of Derek's heartbeat, and while it was very faint, it was there and that was enough. "You better fucking wake up after this, or I swear to god…-" Richard's arm pulled back, his hand clenched into a tight fist as his eyes stayed on Derek's face and his ear tracked his heartbeat. He tuned out the screaming teenagers as they struggled to get the bullet and focused on bringing back his nephew.

A sickening crack could be heard as his fist landed on the planes of Derek's jaw, but it didn't matter because his eyes snapped open and a yelp flew out of his mouth. He was alive.

"The bullet-" Richard turned towards Scott as he held out the piece of metal. It was long, the gold shined in his eyes but the scent stung his nose. He snatched it away and put Derek on his feet, watching silently as he staggered forward, clutching at the metal lab table once again.

He pried the bullet open, wolfsbane spilling onto the counter. Ignoring the sting in his fingers, he pushed it all together, looking back at Derek as he leaned against the cabinets with his eyes closed, waiting for him. He took his lighter out and lit the wolfsbane.

The scent stung his nostrils, the flower stung his hands as he pushed it into his palm before hurrying over to Derek.

With a reassuring tilt of his lips, he pressed the burning crop into his wound.

Derek had felt pain before, he'd felt a dagger go straight through his shoulder, he'd felt the pain of a pole connecting with his head, he'd felt the pain of broken arms and broken ribs, but never had he felt the pain of curing a wolfsbane wound with actual wolfsbane.

It was like fire and ice. It trickled up his arm and ran down his spine, column by column. It spread through his veins, flaming and cooling at the same time. Needles were injected into his skin, all over his body for what felt like hours but was really just a few seconds.

A guttural scream tore just beneath the surface of his chest, reverberating through his entire being as it escaped through his mouth and merged with a growl that rumbled within him.

And then it was over.

* * *

_"Be careful, hon, we don't want you to rip your stitches, okay?" _

_Adelaide's father had been pestering her all weekend about her stupid _stitches_ and her stupid medicine and her stupid gauze that needed to be changed every two seconds. She wanted to go outside and be able to take care of her plants without someone flocking around her and telling her to be careful._

_That someone was usually her dad, but her mom decided to show up and actually care for her for the day._

_"I'm fine, mom." _

_Her voice was still raspy from all the smoke she'd inhaled, and every step she took hurt, but in the few days she'd been out, she learned to hide it well._

_She was in therapy, then. They said she wasn't coping and that she was depressed, they gave her these small blue pills that they said would help her, but they didn't do anything. She never felt anything whenever she took them, and it didn't stop the nightmares. It didn't stop the moments where sometimes she felt like there was a pressure on her chest, and fire taking hold of her mind. They said they were called panic attacks, but she didn't care because she wanted them to go away._

_The blue pills didn't take them away, all they did was make her sleepy and dull the ache in her heart while she was awake. It did nothing for her when her subconscious took over and her eyes drifted shut. _

_"Mom?" _

_Her eyes, tired and dull, wandered over to her mother. She was sitting __there with a look of worry furrowing her eyebrows. She was looking down at her new flip phone, as if it would start ringing just because she willed for it to happen. _

_"Yes?" _

_It was then that Adelaide noticed that her father hadn't been there nearly the whole day. He came into her and Lydia's room to say goodbye because he was off to work, but that was really it. It was usual, the only thing that was out of place was the look of unadulterated pain that crossed his face. But even that was normal in those days._

_"Where did daddy go?" _

_Her mother looked up with a look that held nothing. It was blank and evasive, there only to avoid. "He'll be back soon, don't worry."_

_Every night, her dad did this thing where he would come up for her and take her downstairs. They would stay up until midnight, or just until she fell asleep, and watch old classics. Sometimes even a few wrestling matches, or boxing matches. He would tell her everything about it._

_She could remember the excitement in his voice as he talked about the general rules and the basic moves. He even taught her._

_So when she went to bed that night, she waited for her dad to come up and take her down so they could escape their reality for just a few seconds. She waited 2 hours before darkness lulled her to sleep and the nightmares took hold of her. _

_The next morning, she asked her mom again._

_"Did daddy come back yet?" _

_She only looked at her with the same look. Nothing. _

_Always nothing. _

_"He'll be back soon, don't worry." _

_It was 4 years later, after waiting every night at the seat by her window, that she realized. _

_He was never coming back._

* * *

**HI GUYS **

**So….what do you think? It was kinda emotional and stuff, and this isn't even the worst of it tbh…so get readyyyy. ALSO STADDY MOMENT, AMIRIGHTLADIESORGUYS? yeah, so that was wuthadhappened. uh, review? tell me what you think? seriously, i reallllyy wanna know. i'm actually super nervous about this chapter hahahaha…so pls? alsooo, you can PM me if you wanna just ask a question or anything of that sort, it'd be nice to answer your questions, i love answering your questions (;**

**xoxo Brii(:**


	12. This Is War

**so i kinda noticed that i've lost a lot of my readers, and I promise i'm not trying to sound spoiled or ungrateful or anything…but I really dooo feed off of the feedback i get lmao. it sounds weird when i put it that way, but it makes me happy that people actually _like _what i'm writing, and when i don't rlly get reviews, it kinda makes me think that i didn't do very good or like i did something wrong…and if you guys do wanna talk or have questions, srsly just tell me. i'll answer them, i promise! THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO DID REVIEW, I REALLY DO LOVE YOU SO MUCH THANK YOU (':**

**on that noteee….I really hope you guys like this chapter bc i struggled a bit to write it, i just wanted to get to the good parts so i had trouble writing the other stuff basically lmao. So, tell me what you think, review, favorite, follow, PM me if you want to :D ENJOYYYYY**

**also, i have a trailer for this fic it's on my profile as well as a video that Monkeygonetoheaven made for me! i love you! she's amazing, that's also on my profile, so go check it out :D **

**Chapter 12**

**Battle Cry by Imagine Dragons**

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

"Adelaide!"

"What?!"

Adelaide looked up from the floor, her mouth twisted into a painful grimace as she hopped around the kitchen floors. She and Lydia were downstairs, looking for some ice cream and cookies so they could watch a movie. Unfortunately, Lydia invited Jackson. She said his parents were off on a business trip and she didn't want him being alone. But when she heard Jackson's name, she stubbed her toe on the corner of the leg of the stool Lydia was sitting on.

"Why must you use such repulsive language?"

Lydia twirled a strand of hair around her pointer finger, her pink lips pursing as Adelaide put her foot down and glared at her as if it was her fault. She rolled her eyes as Adelaide repeated her words in a childish voice.

"I hate you." Adelaide muttered as she twirled her car keys around her finger.

Lydia's lips quirked up into a haughty smirk, laughter embedded into her eyes as her sisters' brilliant eyes found hers. "You love me."

Adelaide rolled her eyes, her black polished nails tapping against the marble island. "Jackson's a jackass, and so are you for inviting him." Adelaide wouldn't have minded him coming over if his presence wasn't interrupting her and her sister's one on one time. It was their time to hang out and be around one another without anyone else interrupting. Just the two of them, not Jackson, and Adelaide couldn't help the annoyance that simmered beneath the surface of her mind.

The grin on Lydia's faded and a crease formed between her eyebrows as she looked down at her phone. "We're going to have to pick him up."

Adelaide slipped off the stool, her socks sliding against the tiled floor as she walked towards the back door to get her Vans. She looked back at Lydia, who only sat there looking tapping at her phone. "Hurry up, Lydia."

"I'm coming."

Adelaide stepped out into the night, goosebumps rising on her ivory skin as the cold seeped through her pores. A chill trickled down her spine as she walked towards her car with Lydia's footsteps falling behind her. Every click of her heal was met with an echo of the night.

"Where are you girls going?"

Their heads swiveled to meet his pointed stare. His cerulean eyes glinted in the soft moonlight, the same exact eyes of Adelaide.

"Out."

Adelaide bit the inside of her cheek, glaring at him through angry eyes as he only stepped out of the house and closer to them. The tension seeped into the air until all that was left was a thick coil in the pits of their stomachs.

"It's late."

Adelaide rolled her eyes, her heal dug into the ground as she turned her back on him and started walking back to her car. Her skin prickled with his withering stare. Lydia was already standing by her car, she too chose to just ignore him. "Let's go."

She unlocked the car, stepping in and siting on the cool leather seats. Her thighs touched the cold material as she relaxed into it. Her hands fisted around the wheel, her lip pulled into her mouth as she stopped herself from turning back and ripping him apart with her words.

Their mother arrived just a few days after her father, a suitcase in one hand and a purse in the other, and that only made everything worse than what it already was. He was still staring after them, his eyes wide and his jaw unhinged as he watched with silent annoyance. They could at least _look _in his direction. All he'd gotten in the past week were glares, one-syllable words, and haughty smirks from his ex-wife. It was like she enjoyed watching him struggle with their daughters.

"That's my car, you know!"

She ignored his voice and switched on the ignition, her hands twisting the key as she stared out the window.

Slamming the door, she sped off towards Jackson's house.

* * *

They were at the video store within 20 minutes.

Lydia had walked into Jackson's house to get him out like he was a little kid that needed to be shown the way to the car; that ended up taking 10 minutes, and the rest of the drive was filled with arguing on which movie they would watch.

Adelaide hated _The Notebook_, even if she'd only watched it once when she was 13, she hated it. It wasn't sweet and romantic, it was stupid and horrible. Noah was…an idiot, to put it simply. And Allie? She was even worse. Maybe it was her inner-realist coming out, but _The Notebook_ was nothing but a lie. A cruel, disgusting lie.

Lydia's eyes were trained on the mirror in her hand as she applied another layer of lip gloss. She glanced back at Jackson through the mirror, a knowing glint in her eye as he looked back with matching intensity.

Adelaide wanted to puke.

"_God_, are you guys having _eye sex_?"

Lydia rolled her eyes and put her lip gloss back in her purse, she pursed her lips together and rubbed the lip gloss evenly before letting go with a 'pop'. "We're watching the movie."

Adelaide made a face, her lips pulling back into a grimace as she opened the car and stepped out into the cold night. She looked back at Jackson with question as he followed her out.

"She's taking pictures again." Jackson said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

She scoffed, the scuff of her shoe kicking a rock by the door as she pulled on the handle of the door as her mind drifted back to when they were just leaving the house. Her dad was trying, or that's what Lydia told her. He was trying to compensate for his _past mistakes_, whatever that meant. But nothing he did would work, not for her anyway. And if by some miracle, he managed to convince her, even then he would never trust him again.

He didn't deserve their trust, not anymore. The point of coming back from New York wasn't just to get away from her own demons, but from him. Because when he was around, she hated the feelings it brought. She would wander around the apartment in New York feeling like a caged animal. It was a feeling that she'd barely escaped from years ago, and it was back in the form of her father. It crawled just beneath her skin like ants, an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach that would linger until…she didn't know when it would go away. Hell, she didn't even know why it was there. It was…-it was like dread.

"Can somebody get me _The Notebook_?"

Stopping dead in her tracks, she turned to Jackson with a look of disbelief and amusement. "You are so fucking whipped." She turned to meet his withering glare with a taunting smirk. "We're not getting _The Notebook_, dipshit."

She walked across the aisles as Jackson looked around the store for a worker. Something coiled deep in her being as she halted suddenly. It tickled the skin just above her spine and a shiver racked through her body. She chewed on her lip with furrowed eyebrows before shrugging it off and ignoring the instinct that told her to run.

"Hello? Anybody-" Jackson's words melted into a terrified yelp. His breath hitched in the back of his throat as he stared down at something in and aisle filled with action movies.

"What? Did you see a spider?" Adelaide grinned, but that unsettling feeling punched right into her stomach once again and the grin slowly slipped from her face the longer Jackson took to reply. "Jackson? Jackson…-what is it?" She turned, to face him, but what she saw was something else entirely. She chocked on the oxygen that traveled down her windpipes, stumbling back into a different isle as a dead man's eyes stared straight through her.

A half choked sound escaped the back of her throat as she struggle to keep calm. "Call-" she took a deep breath. "-call 911."

The man's eyes were wide and terrified, frozen in his last emotion. Her eyes traveled down to the pool of blood collecting around his throat, the flickering lights reflecting in the deep crimson. Her hands shook at her sides as she took a hesitant step towards the man. Her lip trembled as she saw the clean gashes that marred his throat. Her stomach lurched violently.

"Wh-what the hell are you doing?!"

Jackson's hand wrapped around her wrist, pulling her back when she took another step towards the man. Her breathing was shallow as everything stopped moving for just a second and all she could see were his terrified eyes.

"Adelaide!"

She blinked, her eyes adjusting to the flickering lights once again before she shoved Jackson away. "What are you waiting for? Call them." her voice was low and raspy, she looked around the room in a frenzied panic. "The-the killer…-it might still be here, Jackson-" Her eyes went wide as she looked over to the exit of the store, her eyes lingering on the Dodge Charger parked just outside. "LYDIA!"

Jackson's hold on her wrist was the only thing that kept her from running to her sister. "Let me go! LYDIA!" Her screams were unheard by her twin, the lights were still flickering, only this time…she could hear something. A buzzing that felt like was right beside her ear. With each flicker of the light, the buzzing intensified, but all she could think about was getting to her sister.

"Adelaide, shut up!" Jackson hissed into her ear. His hand was shaking in her hold, his eyes wide and transfixed on the man with his throat ripped out. "They-they'll-" Jackson let her wrist go and gulped as every column of lights turned off one by one. She lost sight of him, but she was hyper aware of everything that surrounded her.

Silence. It was thinning by the second as harsh breathing echoed in her ears and matched the rhythm of her heartbeat. Every breath she took thinned out the silence until a deep growl resonated throughout the entire building. The hairs on her arms stood at attention as her hands clenched against the fabric of her shorts.

The growl echoed again, deeper, louder, and it triggered something within her that made her snap her head up and turn around to face her most prominent fear: the unknown. She nearly collapsed under her own weight as she caught sight of a monster. It loomed over their trembling forms, red eyes burning into the deepest and darkest corners of her soul as she struggled to even breathe.

Her jaw was slack and her eyes were transfixed on its deformed face. It was like a wolf…only not. Its lip stretched back to reveal a set of fangs that could no doubt tear into her soft flesh without hesitation. A sob was stuck in her throat and her knees wobbled as the fear spread in her veins quicker than lightening.

It lurched forward so suddenly, so quickly that Adelaide's fell back against a latter. The scream lodged in her throat was released as the _monster _stared at her with those savage eyes. She could feel its gaze burning into her, a crawl just beneath the surface of her skin before it lifted and sizzled and burned her. All rational thought flew from her mind and the instinct to survive lingered.

The ladder clattered against the set of shelves and created a rippling domino effect. The monster disappeared for just a second, and she took that second to run towards Jackson. Somehow he'd gotten stuck under one of the shelves, his eyes filled with pain and tears. She never thought she'd see the day where she felt something other than irritation towards Jackson.

"Yo-you're going to be okay…-I just-" Her hands shook as she maneuvered them so they were resting under the shelf. "-just need to try and lift this."

He nodded carefully as she tried to lift the shelf all on her own, but to no avail. It was too heavy. The wood scrapped against her dainty fingers harshly and dug harshly into her arms. She grunted and tried again, only managing to lift it a little before it dropped again on Jackson's already aching back. She winced as he groaned. "I'm sorry-I can't…-I'll just, I'll try again-"

And she did. Twice, but the most they were able to do was lift it enough so he could slip out just a few inches. "Okay…" she whispered to herself, ignoring Jackson's heavy breathing as she thought about what she could do. The monster hadn't been present for maybe a minute, and she was struggling to lift the damn shelf while her sister's boyfriend was stuck under it. What could she do about it?

"We have to wait."

Jackson looked up at her, his pained eyes fixed into a glare as he stared at her disbelievingly, "Wait? For what?! The cops?…-Adelaide, that-that _thing _it, it's going to kill us, okay? So get me out. Just get me out!"

Her blue eyes flashed dangerously as he yelled at her, "I'm fucking helping you, Jackson, wait for a fucking second, okay? I'm going to go get my phone and call the cops. And you're gonna stay here, stuck under that damn shelf and think about being a little more grateful that I even _tried _to fucking help you."

Adelaide stood quietly as he looked her and shook his head, his arms stuck out as she moved away from his vicinity.

"N-No! Adelaide!"

"Just a second, Jackson…-you'll be okay, I just…-we need help."

She ran towards the door with steely determination, her heart was hammered with each step she took. She was inches away from the door, her hand was already reaching for the handle when she heard the thundering steps that echoed in her ears and made heart feel like it had stopped. She turned to see the monster coming her way with darkness in its eyes and blood on its teeth. The door handle was just a centimeter away, and just as she latched onto it, it barreled into the air and came right at her.

"ADELAIDE!"

Only it didn't.

Glass soared through the air as the monster leaped through the window, its eyes lingered on her for just a second but it was enough to make her chest constrict and her breathing stop. Pieces of glass stuck in her hair, some cut through the skin of her shoulders and legs, but she couldn't feel it.

She could only see those savage red eyes.

* * *

In the end, Lydia had been the one to call for help.

There were red and blue lights flashing around them, sirens and voices were loud and fuzzy. Everything was blurring together in a chaotic mess. People kept touching them and Adelaide's eyes kept wandering over to Lydia and Jackson. Jackson was standing, touching her shoulder, touching her arm, grabbing her hand, anything to keep contact with her in a way to reassure himself that they were both there.

Adelaide wanted to go over there, she wanted to check on her sister, hell, even Jackson.

"Sit still."

She glared up at the EMT, "This is me sitting still. Just like I've been doing for the past 15 minutes." His finger prodded at a particularly sensitive are just on her thigh and she flinched. "It doesn't take this long to check if I'm okay or not." She grumbled under her breath, ignoring is amused eyes as they looked over her body.

"Alright, you're good. Just clean the cuts every few hours to keep them from disinfecting."

She jumped off the back of the paramedics truck, muttering a small "finally" and walking towards her sister as the Sheriff approached them. The cuts on her legs protested as they stretched over and over with every step she took.

"Why the hell can't I just go home?"

The Sheriff looked at Jackson with practiced patience that Adelaide silently praised him for. How anyone could deal so well with a prick like Jackson was impressive. "I hear ya', but the EMT says you hit your head pretty hard." A flash of concern lingered in the grey of the Sheriff's eyes. "They just want to make sure you don't have a concussion."

Adelaide went over to Lydia, who was watching her with glazed eyes, and sat down. She pulled her sister's hand into her lap as she stared down at the cuts on her thighs. "Are you alright?"

Lydia barely managed a nod before her eyes became glassy and her lip was pulled into her mouth to keep the tears from falling. "Addy, what was that?" Her voice broke at the end, her eyes looking at her sister for something, anything to prove to her that she wasn't going crazy.

Adelaide gulped as she thought back to the monster with the red eyes that nearly killed her with just a look, "I-I don't know…-they said it was a mountain lion." It wasn't a mountain lion. Mountain lions didn't have red eyes, or leathery skin skin and patches of black fur. Mountain lions didn't have distorted faces and deadly hands that looked more human than animal.

Lydia's voice was shaky, her breath shallow and her heart beating rapidly against her chest. "It-It came at me, it...-it looked at me, Addy, and it jumped." Her hand wound around Adelaide tighter and tighter with each word. Adelaide could feel her trembling in her hold as she remembered. "It had red eyes."

"…-I JUST WANT TO GO HOME!"

The shout startle her, her heart nearly fell to her stomach before she looked up and glared up at the culprit. Jackson was yelling profanities at the Sheriff, who took it with a calm exterior that she wondered how he could pull off so deftly. Her eyes hardened as she looked back at Jackson, the iris of her eyes darkened in anger.

"Jackson." Her voice was low and full of warning, "_Calm down_." He stopped and sat down next to Lydia, seething in his seat as the heat of the moment slowly passed.

"Woah, is that a dead body?"

As if on cue, a stretcher rolled just passed them, a bloody hand stuck out and Adelaide's stomach churned. She was glad she couldn't see the dead eyes anymore, and other than that she felt nothing for the man. All she could feel was the relief spreading in her body as she, Jackson and Lydia sat huddled together, alive.

Did that make her a bad person? That she felt nothing for someone that had lived their last few moments alive in fear?

Suddenly, cameras were flashing and people were closing in on the scene, they were yelling and questioning, demanding answers for something that hadn't even been solved.

Adelaide felt like it would never be solved, because the beast with red eyes wasn't a mountain lion.

No, it was worse.

* * *

"Here's something to calm you two down, okay?"

Their mother had given them a bottle of pills and some water. She was concerned, but she didn't know what else to do other than that. Even when they were younger, she never knew how to comfort them, she still didn't.

"What is it?" Lydia asked uncharacteristically quiet.

Adelaide recognized the bottle as her one she used to have when she was younger, filled halfway with familiar blue pills. Her stomach churned with nausea as the thought of taking them ever again entered her mind. She wouldn't take them, she couldn't do it, not again. "It's Atarax." she answered for her mother. "It works as a…stress reliever, you could say. It's meant for people with high levels of anxiety."

Lydia licked her lips as she took the bottle from her hands, opening it and taking one oval pill out, examining it with shaky hands and uncertainty. "Will it make me feel better?"

Adelaide bit her lip as her sister contemplated the medication. "If you let it." She swallowed thickly as her mother turned to her with her lips pulled in, she only shook her head and took Lydia's hand in hers. She wouldn't take the pill, she knew that, but she also knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep, and if she did by some miracle fall asleep, she would never be ridden of the nightmares that would plague her mind.

Lydia popped the pill into her mouth.

* * *

**Richard Hale paced from tree to tree as he stood outside the Hale house while Derek and Scott talked.

His daughters saw the alpha. The alpha stood right before Adelaide and she looked it in the _eye_. Lydia was in the car, but it saw her too. He knew it saw her and he knew she saw it too, just like Adelaide did. The point was, the alpha was able to attack them and he wasn't there to protect his own daughters when he knew he had the power to.

Richard had no problem with the Alpha, not really, but that was before it attacked his daughters. Before it entered _his _territory and attacked _his _pack. He was even willing to call the Alpha out to try and make _peace_, but how foolish that was. It was too late. The Alpha had already stricken, and Richard was going to strike back. A growl rumbled in his chest as his claws pierced the bark of the tree he leaned against.

The Alpha thought he was the most powerful one. He thought he was the one that called the shots, but he wasn't. This was _Richard's _town, Beacon Hills was his territory, and he'd be damned if some new power-hungry Alpha would enter and attack his people.

No, he would kill the damn mongrel and smile as it's blood stained his teeth, because no one messed with Richard Hale's family and got away with it. Not alive, not even dead. The Alpha would pay for what he'd done, he would pay for attacking his daughters and he would make sure the Alpha would regret the day HE was fucking born.

The day he stepped foot in Beacon Hills was the day he reclaimed his title as protector. His lips curled into a snarl, the moonlight glinting against his deadly fangs as they sought for the new Alpha's blood. Richard was the one that the Alpha had to watch out for, he was the one that would be hunting him, he would rip him to shreds with his lethal bite and make sure it was _known_; not an ounce of mercy in his dark soul.

The Alpha wanted war? It wanted pain? Chaos? Strife? Then that's exactly what he would give him.

A growl bubbled in his chest as he shook with an inexplicable rage that started in the pit of his stomach and burned through his veins with a fire that could kill. His hair fell back as he tilted his head and opened his mouth, his fangs itching to tear through flesh as the growl got louder and louder and soon, he could feel it _everywhere. _

A bloodthirsty roar tore through the trees and shook the earth, animals scurried and whimpered as the power echoed through the night and shook them to the core. A declaration for war lingered in the air angrily as Richard Hale's eyes glinted a savage red.

He would bring the pain, cause the chaos and win the war.

Because _he _was the Alpha.

* * *

**THAT WAS SO FUN! Okay, sooooooo, how'd you guys like it? Pleeease tell me what you think, I am sooo excited to see what you guys think for this chapter, seriously :D ****Outfits are on my polyvore, which is linked up on my profile! Review, favorite, follow, PM me if you have any questions, or just bc you wanna talk ;D i love talking to you guysss! **

**xoxo Brii(;**


	13. Family Above All

**Outfits are on my profile if you're interested ;D Also…super bloody scene, kinda? Honestly, what do you expect? It's teen wolf fanfic lmao  
big thanks to monkeygonetoheaven! she's and she deals with my shit like 24/7 lmao, go read her fic Rewritten: Welcome Home Nikita Grace and the sequel (; promise you won't regret it!**

**Make sure to read the AN at the end! (: **

**Chapter 13**

**Virgin by Manchester Orchestra **

The sun trickled in through the curtains and glinted against her pale skin as she sat criss cross next to a sleeping Lydia.

Her eyes stared into nothing and everything as they focused on a scratch on Lydia's pink walls. They were rimmed red from lack of sleep, her limbs were frozen and sore, the cuts on her thighs stretching uncomfortably as she glanced down at her passed out sister. She licked her chapped lips as the clock on Lydia's night stand ticked with every passing second.

It was 6:30 AM and Adelaide still hadn't had a wink of sleep. Her eyes hurt with the battle to keep them open, but she knew if she'd sleep she'd only bring the darkness out from the corners of her mind. It would consume her whole and take over her subconscious, and she didn't want that. So, she opted for staying with Lydia and whispering reassurance whenever she woke up screaming.

She blinked and looked towards the sleeping girl, warmth flooding through her as her breaths came out in even pants. She hated that her sister had to see it, that she had to see something so evil and monstrous. She wished she could take away the fear that Adelaide knew lingered in her mind with every waking and _sleeping _moment. Just the thought of her sister going through the things she went through made a shudder crawl down her spine.

Her jaw worked angrily as she looked towards the door of Lydia's room. She wanted to go. She wanted to go downstairs and distract herself, she wanted to rip something apart with her hands and put it back together. She wanted to feel the burn in her calves as she ran in between trees and bushes. Nothing would be better than the feel of the twigs snapping and the cleaves crunching beneath her feet with every step she took.

With her mind reeling and her body aching for an escape, she felt the twitch in her leg as she struggled to stay put and take care of Lydia.

She didn't know what to think, she didn't even know what she saw, and she didn't know what was worse. Thinking it could have been a hallucination and she was going insane, or that it could've been real and there was a whole other world out there that they were all oblivious to.

And if it _was_ the latter?

Ignorance really was a bliss.

* * *

Alex was walking steadily with none other than Danny, a smile shining on his face as they talked about past stories and future aspirations, no doubt. Stiles didn't really know, all he knew was that he needed to get to him before they walked to second period. As soon as he was close enough, he latched onto Alex's arm like a vice. He leaned over Alex as he struggled for a breath.

"I-" breath "-was-" breath "-looking for-" a deeper breath "-you."

Alex looked down at the hyperactive teen with amusement shining in his blue eyes. The curves of his lips quirked up as he patted Stiles' back. "Stiles, man, you good?" Stiles raised his head, his narrowed eyes glaring in Alex's direction as he struggled to hold back his laughter. "I'm fine." he huffed quietly as he stood to his normal height. Alex only shook his head and looked back at Danny with apology written in his eyes, who only stood back with a reassuring smile.

"Uh-so,-" Stiles' eyes flitted back towards Danny, a silent message he'd hoped he was sending_. _Danny received the message, considering he muttered a quick goodbye and flashed a dashing smile before walking towards class. A pout formed on Stiles' lips as the boy walked away without even glancing at him. He didn't even say bye to Stiles, only Alex.

"Stiles?"

He snapped out of his thoughtful daze quickly as his reasoning caught up with him. Fixing the strap of his backpack, he started walking with Alex towards the exit of the school. "I need you to come with me to Lydia's house."

Alex's eyes glimmered with confusion, his lips turning down into a frown as the words processed in his mind. The question hung at the tip of his tongue as Stiles only tapped his fingers against the strap of his backpack. "What? Why would you…-?"

His question lingered in the air and a thick tension settled between the two as Stiles' eyes grew wide and panicked. "Well…-uh, well-you know, I just figured you would wanna go check on your best friend?" He noticed the clench of Alex's fist, the biting of his lip and the worry that suddenly pooled in his eyes.

"Why would I need to check on her?" His voice was thick and his body felt heavy as Stiles only stared. He was looking at him with something akin to pity and understanding; empathy. A tick started in his fingertips as the silence prolonged and a panic bloomed in his chest.

"Alex…-Adelaide was attacked last night."

* * *

Rays of sunlight reflected off of the shattered glass glittering between the dying blades of grass that stood solemnly before the Hale manor. Electricity buzzed through the wind, sifting between leaves and reaching the ears of Richard Hale.

He was running through the woods with a destination clear on his mind, but when he heard the pained grunts and pathetic whimpers that whispered danger in his mind, he halted and listened closer. There was a specific smell that burned his nostrils: acrid, thick and…painfully familiar. His eyes flashed their bloody red as he crouched just beneath the bushes and closed his eyes. The light wind caressed the skin of his arms softly, as he focused on his senses.

The pads of his fingertips prickled with a stabbing sensation as they brushed against the rose thorns.

The sweet smell of pine, the earthy scent that wafted from the soil and the fresh smell of perfume lingered in the air. He pulled in another breath, this time filled with darkness. The scent wafted up his nose and burned down his throat. It was thick and sharp, cutting through his airways and left a bitter taste on his tongue.

Birds sang, the wind whistled and the branches thrummed the leaves ruffled and swooshed against the harsh breeze. The pitter patters of small animals scurrying away from him tickled his ears as they focused harder on the direction he knew the scent was coming from. A sharp groan reached him and he could feel the sorrow as it flowed carefully into his ears and pierced his soul.

Derek.

_"…Too bad we killed her before she had her first litter." _

His lungs squeezed tightly as the oxygen fled through his airways. His eyes snapped open as claws slowly came out into the soil, his eyes flickering between their normal colbat blue and a bloody red as anger resurfaced. The raged seeped into his pores as the little control he had left slowly disappeared into nothing. Focus was lost upon him as her words rang clear in his head, the buzzing electricity echoed once again and shot up quickly, a growl rumbling deep in his chest.

_Kate Argent. _

So blinded by his own rage, he didn't see the figure sneaking behind him with quiet footsteps with a gun in hand as he stared at Richard with calculation and hatred.

It was only when he felt something touch the back of his head that his rage simmered just enough for him to pay attention. Dead leaves cracked against the weight of his body as he stood slowly from his crouched position. The pointed object pressed harder against his head threateningly.

"Don't move, or your blood will paint these trees."

Richard was at a stand still. His body was tense beneath the gun that was surely against the back of his skull. He could feel a tremble start at the tips of his fingers as the gun only pressed harder and harder with each second. He could smell the hunter clearly, then. A mixture of axe, adrenaline, and smoked wood.

Richard seethed, "You think your little gun is going to scare me? You think that some pathetic, half-wit hunter with a tiny gun is going to be what kills me? I've survived through worse than a wolfsbane covered dagger to the fucking heart, what makes you think that you scare me with your half-assed silver bullets?"

The gun shook slightly against his head as he pushed himself up to his full height. He could feel the beast within him clawing and howling as the sweet smell of fear invaded his senses.

"From what I've heard….-" The hunter started shakily, his hands wrapping tighter and tighter around the gun, his confidence rising each second. He could see the muscle beneath the werewolf's shirt flex as he continued, his words dripping with venom and hatred. "All it took was fire."

Richard's lips curled back menacingly as the hunter went on and on about the fire that killed his family, nearly killed his daughter and tore him apart piece by piece until all that was left was a shell of a man that once felt love and now felt anger.

With his fists clenched and his body braced for anything that would come his way, he spun towards the hunter and looked him dead in the eye, basking in the fear that pooled in his eyes and poured out of his being. A dauntless smirk that promised nothing but pain inched up his lips as he took slow, predatory steps towards the young hunter.

His gun was trembling along with the rest of his body as he faltered in his trip away from the angry werewolf. He could see the fangs slowly descending to their extensive length, and he knew if he wasn't careful, if he wasn't cautious and put all of his training to work, his blood would be staining them.

"Not so confident now, are we?" Richard's words dripped with abhorrence, his deep voice merging with a dark growl that would soon enough be let out if he didn't get himself under control.

Each step he took towards the hunter drove him deeper and deeper into the forest until his back dug into the bark of a tree.

"You have your nifty little gun, why aren't you using it?" A snarl, deep in his throat escaped as the hunter raised the gun high; right at Richard's head. The twisted grin that curved his lips sent the hunter into a panicked frenzy. "_Shoot me_"

"Wh-what?"

"Go on-" Richard's head tilted to the side as the grin only widened and the hunter's eyes dropped to the gun. His panic, his nerves, his _fear_ was the best part. "What are you waiting for? You're a hunter, I'm a werewolf. _Shoot me._" His body was ready to fight and his lips were curled up too bare his teeth threateningly. His beast was taking over and he could feel it in the way his fingernails grew with every second that passed and the way his body just _ached _for the kill. When the hunter did nothing but stand there and stare at him, Richard lunged.

And suddenly, there was a pain inches away from his heart and just beneath his collar bone. A distorted growl escaped his lips as the blood seeped down his white t-shirt and colored his skin red. His hand reached for the wound and he could feel the shift as it came full force. His eyes stung as a blood red overtook the iris of his eyes.

"_You missed._"

In a flurry of movement, his hand gripped at the hunters arms until he was fully spun around and his chest was against the tree with one arm keeping the hunter's arms behind his back and the other against the back of his head. The gun had dropped feet away from them both as the angry werewolf panted against the hunter's neck and pushed his face further into the bark until he could smell the blood as it dripped down his face and tainted the green leaves.

"Here's a little advice…-" Richard leaned closer to the hunter's ear as he squirmed against his hold, he let the tips of his fangs graze harshly against the apple of his cheeks. "-when you have a gun pointed at someone's head, and they tell you to shoot them? _Don't._"

"Fuck….-" The hunter chocked on his own breath as Richard shoved his faced deeper into the tree, "…you." He slammed his head back into the werewolf's nose and took the chance to get out of his hold before bringing his leg up and kicking him in the stomach.

Richard doubled over for just a second as the rage finally took over, and the beast took control. A wild snarl escaped his lips, thoughts of blood coloring his teeth and begs for mercy made him look back up at the hunter with pulsing red eyes.

"It's _you_." The hunter breathed. A rapid pulse echoed in Richard's ears as the hunter scooted back into the tree once again. "You're the alpha."

That was when Richard made a decision. He would kill him. Not only because his jugular vein popped out of his neck and pulsed rapidly with each step he took, but because if any of the hunters found out about him, they would go after the little family he had left, and he couldn't have that.

His claws sliced through the unblemished skin of the hunter's neck until he could feel his jugular vein pulsing in his the palm of his hand as he reached for the man's cervical vertebrae. Nothing felt better than the defeat in the hunter's eyes as he realized that his last breath would be drawn and he could do nothing about it. He squeezed at the bone tightly, just to let him live his last moments in pain before his hand, slippery with blood and flesh, slid out of him.

Blood coated the tips of his fingertips and rand down the length of his arm the hunter chocked on his own blood. His eyes were wide and unblinking as he looked up at the alpha with terrified eyes.

Richard crouched down to his level, listening to the unsteady rhythm of his heartbeat. The man may not have been directly involved in the fire that killed nearly his entire family, but he was a hunter. He was out for werewolf blood, and despite the code hunters say they go by, Richard could see it in his eyes; he didn't care. And when his claws sliced through his throat, he could feel no remorse. Only relief.

The hunter blinked, a sick gargle echoed in his ears as the blood spilled from his mouth and his opened throat. Richard watched as he bled to death, the blood seeping into the thick material of his sweats. Soon enough, the hunter's last breath was taken and his heartbeat finally stopped.

"You didn't have to do that."

His head snapped back towards a shirtless Derek.

"It will always be necessary when my family's life is on the line."

* * *

**Sweat poured down every dip and curve of Adelaide's body as her fist connected harshly with the side of a punching bag. The Ace bandage wrapped around her knuckles wasn't enough to keep the pain at bay, but she ignored it as she aimed again. And again. And again. Soon enough, a kick or two was thrown in and she'd let herself get lost in it. Her body was sore and beaten, but she kept going.

She moved with her entire body, lithe and graceful yet harsh and angry. The punching bag moved from side to side as the chains holding it up smacked loudly against the worn leather and random patches of velcro. The world was drowned out by the noise.

The night before, she never would have thought she'd be going through this. Not again. There was very little to what she saw, but there was also so much. It made shivers rake down her body and goosebumps rise on the surface of her skin. The red eyes were like a broken record in her mind, playing time and time again as she silently begged for it to go away. But it didn't, and she found herself dreading the moment she let the exhaustion get to her.

She remembered the countless times her mother had peeked into the room to check if Lydia was okay, sometimes she would even ask about what happened but Adelaide would only look at her and say it was a mountain lion, but she knew her mother didn't believe her. Not when she looked at her with a harsh gaze that made her want to shout and yell at her for even expecting her to say otherwise.

Adelaide didn't want to think it was anything other than a mountain lion, but that wasn't possible for her. For all she could think about was the stark difference between a mountain lion's golden fur and the dark, leathery skin with patches of black fur. A mountain lion was an ant compared to the monster that made her want to scream in both fright and anger.

She could remember its predatory steps as it walked towards her purpose. Its bloody red eyes as they stared at her with whisperings of dark promise. The growl that resonated from the monster rung in her ears as she remembered her back slamming against an aisle of movies. It glared at her so fiercely, his eyes the reflection of death itself as she fought to breathe for just one second. She remembered _everything. _She could feel the fear coursing through her veins and shaking her bones. She hated it. Feeling so helpless, so useless, afraid…_so weak. _

Her arms, slick with sweat, ached for a break as she began attacking the leather bag ruthlessly. Her breathing was rough and rapid as her eyes shifted in and out of focus. Suddenly, the fear was creeping up again as she fought to keep it out. Her fist lashed at the bag again and again until she could feel the bandage ripping under the force.

A high-pitched yelp echoed in her basement as the bandage fully ripped and leather and velcro scraped harshly against her knuckles. Blood stained her ivory skin and everything else faded away. She cursed under her breath as she reached for her bottle of water before draining it. The cool liquid slid down her throat and eased the heat that encased her body.

"Adelaide?" The voice echoed in the basement, making her jump. It was loud yet small, demanding yet timid. _Alex_. "Oh my god, Adelaide, I-Stiles…-he told me what happened, are you okay? God, Adelaide, what-"

Suddenly, he was right in her face. His hands searching and groping at her face frantically. Tilting her head from side to side and letting them roam around the rest of her body as he continued with his inspection and she stood there with a ghost of a smile on her face.

"You're bleeding!"

He took her hand, ignoring her hiss as he inspected it with furrowed eyebrows and worried eyes. She could see the lingering panic in his stance and his eyes as he looked back up at her. A sigh fell from his lips as her eyes contacted with his, and he could see it. The fear, he could see it. "Adelaide…" Her name left his lift with a silent gratitude that he couldn't express with words.

His hold on her was gentle yet firm as he slowly brought her to his chest. Another sigh left his lips, one of relief as her body instinctively molded against his. "When Stiles told me…-Adelaide, I was so worried." Another shaky breath as he lowered his head into the crook of her neck, breathing her in as if to reassure himself that she was there.

Small hands pushed at his abdomen gently as she looked up at him with her bright eyes and gave him a grin that made him feel like the world was lifted from his shoulders. How could she do that? How did she have the power to make him feel so much better with just a smile?

"Alex, I'm okay. I got a little rough with the punching bag, that's it. I'm okay, everything's okay." She lied. Her heart wasn't racing anymore like it was before, and the world wasn't blurring together into the face of a beast with red eyes. Fear was no longer gripping at her chest and her hands were almost steady enough she could hide the shaking. Alex didn't need to be burdened with her fear, he didn't need the same weight that rested on her shoulders to rest on his.

Alex was so swept up in his own relief he didn't notice the darkness that haunted her eyes, or the pink tinge in the whites of her eyes from lack of sleep. He was oblivious to it all as he swept her into another hug.

"You're okay."

But she wasn't.

* * *

Adelaide and Alex bounded up the stairs that stood between the basement and the main house, their voices carrying out through the dark hall as they talked about what happened the other night.

"We went to the video store, and I guess a mountain lion decided it wanted to watch a movie with us." Her answer was clipped and sharp, leaving no room for questions. Her fingers brushed against the security door lock until her thumb settled on a pad meant to distinguish her finger print. Despite being a small town with little to no excitement, their mother demanded there to be high-end security in each are of the house. Especially the basement. It held all kinds of weapons, ranging from daggers and swords to 9-Mils and Semis.

Her parents were obsessed when the girls were younger, they said it was a nice little collection they had going, they weren't doing anything illegal. They'd even gone as far as teaching the girls to use each and every one of the weapons.

Despite the fact that Lydia hated them, Adelaide knew she liked knowing that if need be she could defend herself somehow. Adelaide, on the other hand, grew fascinated. She'd begged her father to teach her more about them, to teach her how to use them without losing her grip or missing her target. She wanted to make it a skill, so she told him to teach her and he did. Because back then, he would do anything for his kids as long as he got to see that gleaming smile that made their brilliant eyes pop out and their dimples appear.

"A mountain lion? I thought mountain lions were all…kill if threatened and territorial in their land or whatever you said. I mean…-a video store doesn't exactly scream mountain lion territory."

Her fingers tapped against her bare thighs as memories of the other night silently spilled into her mind, waiting to take control and leave her an emotional mess. "What do I know? I read it in some less than reliable book…-It could easily be a lie. Maybe mountain lions like the smell of used DVDs and old candy? I don't-" Her fingers continued to tap against her thigh in beats that mirrored her heartbeat. "-I don't know. Animals can be weird. I can't-I can't…-I don't know everything there is to know about mountain lions." Her words were quick and nearly indistinguishable.

A slow realization bloomed in his mind; she wasn't fine. He could feel the trembling fear that radiated off of her in waves, then. He could see the trembling hands and could hear her short breaths.

"Adelaide, it's okay to be scared."

She inhaled sharply, her body still for just a second before she picked up her speed and walked quickly towards her living room. "I'm not scared."

"Look-"

"I'm not _scared_!" Adelaide turned to face him with a blotchy face, a harsh breath escaped her breath as she clenched her trembling hands. There was a small tremor in her voice mixed with anger that could be heard loud and clear in Alex's ears that scared him as much as it worried him.

"Woah…-hey."

"You brought _him_?" Adelaide's words lingered in the air for a second before Stiles' expression went from confusion to downright offense. Her jaw clenched. She was sure her day couldn't have gotten any worse. Alex wasn't supposed to find out, she didn't want him to worry about her like he always did, and of course Stiles had to go on and blab to him.

Not only that, but Stiles was in her house while she looked like she'd been beaten and dragged down a set of stairs. Not only did she look like shit, but she looked weak. Her lips pulled downwards into deeper scowl and her fists clenched again as he rocked back on his heals and waved his hand awkwardly.

"I'll have you know, I am _great_ company." Stiles went ignored as Alex stared down at Adelaide.

Stiles walked down the last step, his blue flannel nearly getting stuck to the banister as he walked up to them with his lips rolled in and his hands tapping against his jean clad thighs. A genuine look of surprise crossed his face as he looked over Adelaide. He could see the blood staining her knuckles and the small cuts that scattered along her thighs. Her face was blotchy, curly hairs stuck out of her pony tail.

"If he hadn't told me I wouldn't have known." Alex defended. Adelaide only looked at him like that was _exactly _what she wanted, for him not to know, and he could feel a slow heat travel up the base of his neck until the tips of his ears were red with frustration. Of course, of _course _Adelaide would try to shut him out.

"Did you guys know Lydia's hyped up on Atarax? Like…she's way high. Higher than high…-she's like freaking sky high."

Adelaide's eye twitched as she looked back up at Stiles. "You went into my sister's _room_?"

"Your mom said it was fine…"

"I'm going to go check on Lydia, Ads. Don't kill each other, please?" Alex interrupted, looking between the two before walking up the stairs quickly. His own fists were clenched as he shook his head and closed his eyes for a second before sending Adelaide a look that made her want to hide. He was concerned, she could feel it.

"Whatever." Adelaide heaved a sigh. She eased herself onto the couch, barely even wincing as the small cuts on her thighs stretched. A slow humming started in her body as Stiles sat next to her. Her hands settled against her thighs gingerly before the tapping started again and all she could focus on was her rapid heart beat and the feeling of dread that had settled in her gut long before Alex and Stiles had come to her house.

Stiles watched her silently, as if she was the most interesting in the world. His eyes were focused on her slim fingers, tapping relentlessly at the cuts on her thighs as the scrape on her knuckles stretched over and over again. There was something familiar about the action, and it wasn't until he looked away that he noticed he was doing the same thing. His stopped abruptly and hid his hand in the pocket of his hoodie.

"Are you okay?" Adelaide's head turned so quick, Stiles could have sworn he heard something crack. Her eyes were focused solely on him and he suddenly felt like he needed to explain himself. "I mean…-like, after what happened last night? Do you remember what you…saw?" His voice cracked as he remembered his earlier encounter with Lydia and he felt the blood rushing to his cheeks.

"I saw a mountain lion." She bit the inside of her cheek and shifted in her seat. A second later and she looked back at him, only to see him looking right at her. Her breath caught as she saw something she'd never seen from him before, at least, not directed towards her; empathy.

His eyes were filled with it as he studied her carefully and she felt her heart hammer against her chest as she looked down at herself. He was examining her, his eyes wandering over the cuts on her thighs before moving towards the awful scrapes against her knuckles, and when she back at him, he was looking right into her eyes.

They were a variations of blues and greys, like that of a stormy day rivaling that of a warm clear ocean. They were a contradiction within themselves; just like Adelaide. The steady thump in his chest increased as her eyes shone with a certain softness he'd never thought Adelaide Martin was capable of.

But of course, the moment was shattered as soon as it came.

Adelaide's eyes turned frosty as she came back into herself, a glare that could freeze the earth pointed straight at him. "What?" she asked harshly. Her voice was suddenly sharp and edgy, a knife cutting through the tension and wakening him from his thoughts.

"You have nice eyes."

Stiles' eyes widened as the words tumbled out of his mouth without his permission. A wave of heat settled over his face and he could feel the blood rushing towards his cheeks as her eyes widened and her pink lips formed an 'o' shape. "I-I mean…-your-they're not…-I mean, they are! But…-I…Oh, god."

A range of emotions flowed in and out of Adelaide in rapid paces, the main one being surprise and the other was indistinguishable. It was a subtle warmth that started in the pit of her stomach and caressed the apple of her cheeks.

Her lips had subconsciously tilted upwards and she forced them back down into a frown with a shake of her head. She was tempted to thank him, to tell him that he was the first person to truly tell her something like that. But instead she settled for something that wouldn't make her sound like such a _girl _and more like herself.

"You're such an idiot."

* * *

**I'm so sorry, not much happened in this chapter. I was supposed to add some more, but I was taking way to long so I'll just put that into the next chapter (:  
Also, since I take a while to update…i'll be sending out teasers to those who review (: I hate not updating as soon as you guys want me to, i really do, so i'll try to the time between updates a little less painful haha AND STADDY MOMENT GUYS. THIS ONE IS A REAL DEAL STADDY MOMENT OKAY? I'd looove to see what you think about that, so leave a review :D**

**AND I MADE A NEW TRAILER ;D it's the full trailer for season 1 of the serpent &amp; the butterfly, and I think you guys will love it. It's up on my profile if you wanna check it outtt. It's also on my tumblr _Fanficbri_ where I post videos banners and just like talking to you guys in general (: **

**xoxo Brii(: **


	14. Dysfunctional

**wowww, thank you guys so much for the reviews and the fans and follows (': you guys made me soooo happy, i even danced a little tbh, and almost broke a bone, but it's okay haha. no but seriously, thank you, and for the guests, i'm sorry i wasn't able to reply to you D: i wish i could! AND A MASSIVE THANKS TO MONKEYGONETOHEAVEAN for dealing with me like 24/7 lmao, thanks love (:  
_  
Tayy(guess reviewer)_: i'm so happy that you liked it, and i really hope you like this chapter too, btw thanks for the compliment, it really means a lot (:  
_Guest_: you're right, stiles and addy areee cute, the cutest, even though they despise each other, they'll learn soon enough :D btw there's a scene with richard and addy, and i had you in mind when i wrote it (;  
**

**Outfits are on my profile! As well as a trailer made by me, and one made by the lovely monkey gone to heaven, and even a banner (; AND a stiles + adelaide video that i made just recently, hope you guys like it :D **

**Chapter 14**

**Iron Man by Nico Vega**

Headlights lit the gravel of Richard's driveway as Derek's black Camaro settled into an empty spot.

The stench of blood lingered heavily in the air as it lifted off of Richard in waves. It permeated through the small car and invaded their senses entirely, but it didn't bother them. The coppery scent was something they were used to. How sad was that?

Derek's eyes lingered on the garage door as he shut off the engine.

He'd seen the whole thing, the killing. He'd seen the loss of control Richard had encountered at the mere mention of their family, of their demise. A string in his heart pulled as he thought about his deceased family, the familiar burn of heartache lingered in his chest before he pushed it away. He couldn't afford to lose himself in his emotions, not with a rogue alpha running around Beacon Hills.

"I had to do it."

Richard's voice pierced through the bloody haze and he turned to him with understanding. "You don't have to explain yourself to me, Richard." His voice was deep and raspy as he spoke, making Richard turn to him. "I know you had to do it."

A deep concern for his nephew rooted within him since he'd heard of Laura's death back in New York. He knew from the moment her heart stopped beating that she was dead, it was like his own heart had stopped to. She was pack, _his _pack even if she was an alpha herself, they were family. But the alpha killed her. And now Derek thought he was alone, but he wasn't. He had Richard, and the twins, hell even Caroline. And that was why the next thing that came out of his mouth was the best decision he'd ever made.

"Do you want to stay with us from now on, Derek? Actually…it's not even a question. With the hunters lurking around our property, you're in danger, so…you're definitely staying with us."

With those last words, he opened the door and walked out and walked towards the backdoor. The sound of the car door closing softly and Derek's hasty footsteps followed closely behind.

"What? No!"

* * *

Needless to say, Derek ended up agreeing.

With Richard's anger still simmering just beneath the surface and the hunter's blood sticking to his skin as a helpless reminder of the danger that lurked in Beacon Hills, there was no way he would accept a no. Especially not if it would put Derek in danger. So, instead of attempting to compromise, he hit Derek upside the head and told him it wasn't a question and walked in through the back door in hopes that no one would be in the kitchen and he would be given the chance to wash the blood off of himself.

It wasn't really until he reached the sink that he realized that Derek was still shirtless and his ex-wife would throw a fit if she knew they were tracking mud through the kitchen floors. "Take your shoes off and go up to my room to get a new shirt."

Derek huffed, ignoring his order and walking up the stairs as Richard stayed, taking the evidence of murder off of his hands.

It was nearly hypnotizing. The blood circled the drain like Richard circled the hunter before attacking. A violent churn in the pit of his stomach made him lean over the sink. He pretended not to feel the guilt rising up against his will and scrubbed against the skin on his arms, ignoring the hairs that had stuck to his skin and stung as soon as he pulled them apart. _The hunter deserved it, _he repeated silently.

He dried himself quickly to rid himself of the harsh reality that was his life and walked out of the kitchen and towards the staircase, where Derek was coming down from. It was when loud barks evaded his sensitive ears that he turned to see Adelaide and Lydia standing side by side with matching scowls that quite frankly put him, an Alpha, on edge.

Out of habit, he scanned both of their bodies to check for any injuries. Adelaide's top was small and loose, barely covering the expanse of her stomach, but he caught a glimpse of the risen skin the lay just above her ribs and slid down to her hip. The skin was a shade darker than the rest of her skin, rising above the rest of her skin like a constant reminder that it would be there for the rest of her life. A shudder raked down his spine as guilt blossomed in the pit of his stomach.

It was from the fire.

It was only when her hand stretched over the skin that his head snapped back up and her glare intensified.

Prada and Ava were still barking at Derek ravenously as he walked down the last step. Ava's small yips almost brought a small grin to Richard's lips, but instead he only glanced over at Derek to see him glaring down at the dogs. They quieted almost instantly.

"Derek?"

Surprisingly, Lydia was the first to ask. She stepped forward, a strong scent was carried with her, but he couldn't explain it. It was almost like…she was medicated. That was the scent, medication. "Not that we're not happy to see you, but-"

"What are you doing here?" Adelaide stepped up and asked. Richard didn't miss the pointed look sent her way by Lydia, or the way Adelaide just raised her eyebrows and gave the tiniest of smirks. He didn't miss the matching eye rolls, and he was glad for it. He didn't realize how much he missed his daughters, his_ life, _until then.

"He's staying with us from now on."

"-Until I find a place." Derek added stubbornly.

Adelaide looked over at him with her own calculating colbat eyes that reminded him so much of Richard. The resemblance was nearly uncanny, and it wasn't only the eyes. There was just something about Adelaide that screamed _Richard_. Maybe it was the way she carried herself, or maybe it was the intensity in her gaze that matched her father's perfectly. She stood tall and spoke clearly with a voice that demanded to be heard.

Her eyes softened, though, when she looked into his cold grey eyes that were once happy and light.

"Take your shoes off next time you come into the house. My mom's going to _kill _you for tracking mud around the house."

* * *

After getting changed and ready for the parent teacher conference, Richard decided a glass of his best bourbon would help him with the interrogation he knew was coming. Beacon Hills High was filled with prying teachers and intrusive inquisitions. He would definitely need something to keep him from ripping out their throats, too.

He walked down the steps as he fixed the cuffs on his suit. He wished he didn't have to wear it, but he knew if he didn't Caroline would have his head on a silver platter, and despite the fact that she was a small woman with a beautiful smile, she was the most terrifying being he'd ever encountered. Nearing the mini bar he had set up since the girls were just little, he opened the top cabinet and his lips pulled down. It was empty.

**"I threw it all out when I realized you were a deadbeat."

Adelaide's voice rung clear in his ears. It pierced through his skin and embedded itself into his soul, gripping and biting. His spine straightened as if he'd been whipped, and honestly, it sure as hell felt like it, but he would never let it show.

He forced himself to turn towards her, a furrow between his eyebrows as he struggled for words. There was nothing he could say to that because it was true. He left them, his family, in a time of need. He deserved that.

"Must really suck to know that your most expensive bottle of bourbon was smashed to bits, kinda like our family."

She really had a way with words, he'd give her that.

When he looked up, what he saw made the grip on his soul tighten. Her eyes were dark with anger, burning him with vicious flames that flared with each step he took, but that wasn't what caught his attention. It was the paleness of her skin, it was almost sickly, she looked tired, he could smell the fear that clung to her for its dear life. And as much as she tried to conceal it, he could see the dark circles just around her eyes. It was like the night before was haunting her with every passing step, and he wouldn't doubt it if it was. He wished he'd been there, he wished he could have killed the alpha and just gotten it over with. But he didn't, and all he could do was watch as the consequences took place in the form of his daughters. He just wished he could make them forget.

Then, the most brilliant idea came to his mind. It was like that metaphorical lightbulb just clicked above his head and he realized he _could _make them forget. He was an alpha…of course he could do it. He'd done it before, and he could definitely do it again.

"You know, it was all for your own good. For our family's own good." He stepped forward and she looked down at his feet with uncertainty. "I didn't do it because I wanted to."

She looked back up with her lip pulled back and her teeth showing almost viciously. Her canines were longer than he remembered, but that could definitely be the werewolf gene kicking in. "Right. Our own good? You know what, how about you take that excuse, and shove it right up your ass?"

He grimaced, taking another step forward as she continued to glare at him through those electrifying eyes that spewed fire. He doubted she noticed how much closer he was, or that his claws were coming out slowly as she continued to glare at him. She was angry, he could feel it, he could smell it, the fear was gone and replaced with an angry even he couldn't compete with. He took the distraction to his advantage and lifted his arm slowly and quietly.

"I'm sorry." The response was forced through his clenched teeth.

His eyes stayed on hers a familiar burn starting at the pit of his stomach as her eyes slowly lost their fire. Her heartbeat rang clear in his ears, speeding up with every second that passed until she finally spoke words he never wanted to hear. Not from one of his daughters, anyway. Her voice was strained, almost like the words were burning even her, and just at the end of her unforgiving sentence, it wavered, and he could feel his heartstrings pulling harder and harder with each word.

"_I hate you_."

His arm stilled as it reached just the small of her back. He wasn't touching her, but he could feel the heat radiating from her skin, his claws were fully out and he was surprised she hadn't noticed what he had been doing, but that didn't matter anymore. Those final words had pierced him so deeply, so painfully he didn't know where the beginning of his pain started, and he knew it didn't end. It was one thing for your wife to say it, or a friend, a family member, but she was his _daughter. _And he'd be damned if he didn't admit that it was like someone had finally pulled out his heart. Like his insides were burning from the pain and his head was going to explode. Because that was exactly what it felt like.

"What's going on?"

Adelaide pulls away from him, his sharp claws receding quickly as she nearly backed into his arm. Her face was void of any emotion and her body stood tense and ready for anything as she stepped away from him. "Nothing." she muttered lowly, her head shaking as she practically ran back up the stairs.

Richard stood in place, his eyes burning holes into the place she had just been standing, and he could feel Caroline's eyes urging him to look back at her, and it wasn't until she spoke again that he did. His pain was relieved momentarily as Caroline glared at him from the bottom of the staircase. He'd rather deal with her anger than his daughter's hatred.

"What the hell were you doing, Richard?"

"I was trying to _help _her."

"Oh? And by helping her, you mean, what? Slicing her back? Scratching her? Biting her? Tell me, Richard, what is your version of help?"

"I was going to make her forget she saw the Alpha. He's ruining them, can't you fucking see that? Or are you just so blinded by your damn need for perfection, that you ignore your own daughters?"

She scoffed, her voice lowering and her eyes glowering as he stood tall and looked down at her with anger, "Oh, please. Richard, do you _forget _what you've done for the past 6 years? Don't you dare try to make yourself the good guy in this situation. This is _my _house. This is _my _territory, now. And if I ever see your claws, eyes, or even a flash of fang in the presence of _my _daughters, I will make sure you regret the day you decided it was a good idea to come back."

His jaw worked angrily as she stepped back and smoothed a hand down her pencil skirt.

"If we don't leave now, we'll be late for the conference."

* * *

"So, what do you think about dad being back?"

Adelaide's feet dragged across the comforter as she lay comfortably with Lydia on her bed. Her fingertips were brushing at the skin on Lydia's wrist as Lydia's fingers played with Adelaide's strawberry blonde curls. For the past hour and a half they'd been laying with each other just talking aimlessly as time passed by in hopes that it would keep their minds off of the devil that hung on both of their shoulders.

Lydia had asked the question. Her voice was strong and confident, but her fingers were tightening around the loose curl in Adelaide's hair that had caught her attention.

A bubble of dread sat in the pit of Adelaide's stomach as the question echoed in her mind. Her fingers halted their movement against Lydia's wrist as her lips pulled down. The question rocked through her entire body. Thoughts of her father lingered in her mind, an unbelievable regret shone deep deep down within her and she wished it would just go away with the rest of her emotions. What she said was what she meant, and she didn't care if when she said it his eyes reflected that of broken glass. She could feel the soft tremble in her chest. Her lip was pulled into her mouth as she bit it harshly.

Turning to Lydia, she could see a vulnerability in her eyes that made her want to take her away and shield her from the world. Adelaide could see everything through Lydia's eyes, then. A deep sorrow embedded into the corners of her being began to spread as Lydia's wide green eyes looked into her own. It had always been Adelaide to reassure Lydia, to be there for her in her time of need, to pick her up whenever she fell down. And in that moment Lydia was lying on the ground and Adelaide's hand was outstretched.

"I think…-" Adelaide paused, "…-that he's an asshole, and I don't like him." Her eyes lowered to the hand that was intertwined with hers. Lydia's perfectly manicured nails were digging into the already bruised flesh just beneath her knuckles. "And…-" she gulped. "And I think, that if you want to make things right with him, then it's your choice."

Lydia pushed herself further against the headboard. "Don't be stupid, of course I don't want to forgive him." Her voice never once faltered, but when she looked back up at Adelaide, her breath caught. Lydia's eyes, usually so bright and full of life were sunken and dull; they were the windows to a terrified soul that Adelaide knew she was trying to hide. "You know what? Let's talk about something more important."

Adelaide licked at her bottom lip, her eyes settling on Lydia's whitening knuckles and her own scraped ones, and she squeezed back.

_I'm here. _

Lydia's lips upturned into a genuine smile, although small, it was there.

"Alright, then. My phone, _very very _important. Have you seen it? I remember leaving it in the car and seeing all these pictures you took last night, but that's it."

A brightening of Lydia's eyes and a purse of her lips told Adelaide that she was in thought. A slow furrow formed between her eyebrows as she looked towards her nightstand. Her fingers skimmed the surface of it, and she looked up at Adelaide with confusion.

"I could have sworn I put it on my night stand."

Adelaide's lips pushed into a small pout as she looked around the room, her phone was nowhere to be seen. "Where the hell did my phone go?"

* * *

_"The girls at the top of the social latter, and they seem to have taken over tutoring. Or at least, Lydia has. Adelaide is rather occupied with sporting events, such as Wrestling. Of that, I've heard she's on of the best. And I am so very happy to inform you, that you're children bare the gift of true leadership."_

_Pride shined in both Richard and Caroline's eyes, smiles lit their features as they looked towards the teacher, urging for more._

_"Lydia, quite the social piranha that one, is perfectly fine. She's a pleasure. Adelaide, however, can be quite…difficult."_

_Their faces drop._

_"She's a great student, a great athlete, but…not much of a people person. She's ruthless and…actually quite ignorant of the others surrounding her. Of course, she has her moments, but overall she doesn't seem to care._

Adelaide's eyes wandered over her sister's sleeping form. Her make-up was done beautifully, immaculate as ever. Mascara no longer ran down the apples of her cheeks and her gloss was perfectly in place, but she'd fallen asleep as soon as she finished, so Adelaide took the job of taking it off for her. She took the wipe and gently scrubbed it down her face with concentration and precision.

After completely ridding her sister of all the make up she'd slabbed onto her face, she leaned down for the blanket. Her lips pursed and her eyes warm, she took in her sister's sleeping form. It seemed she was having a dreamless sleep, and Adelaide really hoped that was the case. She pulled the blanket over her shoulders and brushed her lips against Lydia's forehead.

"Goodnight, Lyds."

_"Other than that, she's a strong individual with a bright future. Just like Lydia, a born leader."_

Cerulean eyes focused on a photo that held a once happy family that smiled and laughed. There were lights and brightness in all of their eyes, a shine that had dulled since that, a glow that used to surround them all, but it was long gone. It was a moment of happiness captured in one frame, and while it should have brought a smile to her face, it only made her lips tilt down into a frown.

Eyes downcast and lips pulled into her mouth, she thought back to her father and let the emotion rush through her veins and explode in her mind. For once, she let herself feel if only just a second. And she felt pain. Pain because the family that once were a united front had crumbled just before her eyes. Because every time she looked at her father she saw the flames dancing in her eyes, and heard the screams of her families as she lay helpless and useless on the burning floor.

She closed her eyes tightly and wished for it all to go away once again. As strong, and as tough as she made herself out to be, she couldn't handle that pain. She couldn't handle the guilt, the regret, the loss that coursed through her veins. So, like she'd done many times before, she ushered those metaphorical snakes into that metaphorical box, closed, and locked it.

She was _weak_.

* * *

"You see? They're doing beautifully in their academic and social life." Caroline voiced with a smug glint in her eyes as she and Richard walked towards the car.

Richard rolled his eyes, "That's all that matters though, right? That they _look _like they're fine?"

Caroline's eyes hardened, her posture straightening and a fierce glare pointed towards Richard, "I don't know what you're insinuating, Richard, but I suggest you keep your _opinions _to yourself." Her peach colored lips remained in a thin line as she looked back towards the street. Richard looked down at her as the irritation bubbled slowly in his chest.

"I'm just say-"

"Mrs. Martin!"

A feminine voice carried in the wind as it reached their ears. Cobalt blue met emerald green before they landed on the perfect family of three. A fake smile was plastered onto Caroline's face as the family because awfully familiar to them. Richard, however, remained stoic and blank. The Argents. It had been years since Richard had seen them, and surprise took over. They'd never seen Richard, thankfully. It was only Kate Argent that had spoken to him, that had come face to face with him, but Richard knew if they found out who he was they would aim for his family and kill them all. Even with there _oh so honorable code_, they were ruthless hunters with only one thing on their minds.

Kill the werewolves.

His surprise was kept hidden within his mind as he faced Allison Argent and her family.

"Allison, sweetheart! How are you, darling?" Caroline's tone was laced with a warmth that made Richard want to roll his eyes and shake his head. There was a steady anger that brewed just beneath the surface that he knew he hid well as his eyes landed on the girl with the snow white complexion and innocent doe eyes. He remembered Derek telling him about her. _Allison Argent_, Scott McCall's girlfriend and Lydia's new best friend. She was an Argent, and as far as he knew, he couldn't trust her as far as he could throw her.

"I'm great, uh..-" she turned back towards her parents with a level of unease that almost made Richard smirk. She was uncomfortable with the situation, he could smell the nerves wafting off of her in waves. "-these are my parents. Mom, Dad, this is Lydia's mom. Mrs. martin."

Said parents looked over at Richard and Caroline with matching intensity that set Richard on edge. It was like they were analyzing them, calculating and memorizing their each and every move with their crystalized eyes. He wanted to gouge them out.

"I'm Victoria." The woman looked into the eyes of Caroline Martin, a smile that didn't reach her eyes and instead made them look frozen lingered on her face for just a second and Caroline matched it perfectly. Her own emerald eyes were regarding her with the same intensity and Richard could _feel _the tension as it rose with each second that passed. "This is my husband, Chris. We're Allison's parents."

Allison herself tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked down, muttering something low enough that the adults couldn't hear, and in Richard's case, didn't care enough to listen.

"I'm Caroline, and this is Richard. We're Lydia and Adelaide's parents."

Richard watched as the hunters realized who they were, smiles slowly grew on their faces, the whites of their teeth in bare display as they bared them like a hunter would its prey. They were like predators on a hunt, but what they didn't know was, Richard was to. His jaw clenched, but he forced himself to remain calm and refrain from ripping them apart one by one as flashes of his dead family spiraled in his mind.

Caroline glanced at him from the corner of her eye, a silent warning in her stare that made him look back at the family with a false smile that made his head hurt. A moment of pure, unadulterated loathing was allowed, tainting his blood and darkening his soul just a little more. He gave a terse nod that while may have seemed like a way of greeting, was really just a way to calm himself down. It didn't work.

"We heard about the attack, with your daughters, I really do hope they're alright. They're such nice girls."

Just the mention of his daughters made his head snap up and his hands still as if they were ready for a fight. Nothing could be compared to the panic and rage that surged through his veins in a venomous mixture. It was the most difficult thing he'd ever done, controlling himself in front of the Argents the way he was. He knew that just one more comment would make him explode.

"…maybe you would all like to come for dinner?"

It seemed that while he'd been distracted with his own conflicting emotions, Caroline had taken the pleasure in speaking to the Argents. When he heard the words "come for dinner" he didn't know what to think. It was like there was an invisible wall keeping him from lashing out and ripping them apart, only the wall wasn't really all that invisible. It was Caroline.

"Of course, it would be my pleasure." Richard could see, though, there was no pleasure in her eyes. He let a few seconds pass and let the Argents go on their merry way before he stalked off towards his car, ignoring the clacking heals against the cement, catching up with him.

"You're angry, but I don't care, Richard. These are the Argents, and they need to trust us." Richard leaned against the car door with his back to Caroline. He couldn''t let them walk into the bear's den, not unprepared. They weren't to be trusted, and he couldn't understand how Caroline could be so _stupid. _She was stepping right into their trap knowing who they were.

Her fingers wrapped around his bicep and she pulled until his attention was no longer on the dark paint of his car. Her eyes were set on his, silently communicating that he had no say in the matter.

"I don't trust them." He growled out. There was a pain in his voice that anyone could hear, but he chose not to pay attention to it. The Argents were dangerous, and he couldn't let his family go near them. They were all he had left, he couldn't lose them to. She blinked once before her she looked up at him with reassurance, her eyes were soft but her words were burning through him like hot needles.

"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. We're having dinner with the Argents because that's exactly what they are, Richard. _Enemies._"

* * *

Stiles' eyes were wide open, staring at his grey ceiling silently as his fingers tapped along the planes of his stomach. He had been trying to sleep for the past hour, but it wasn't coming. At all. It was like an energy was buzzing just beneath the surface of his skin, seeking to be released. And it was always like that. Every. Single. Night.

He would have to wait for exhaustion to slowly seep into his pores and take over his mind, but it usually took a while for it to really take its toll. It made for horrible mornings and his already suffering attention span even shorter. Usually, he would just think until he slept, and his thoughts were focused solely on the incident with his father.

How was it that Scott could save Allison _freaking _Argent, but he couldn't save the man that had practically been a father to him? A surge of bitterness infiltrated his usually less than bitter disposition and he let it take place in his gut. Scott had chosen Allison over Stiles' dad, what would keep him from doing the same to Stiles? Panic gripped at him silently at just the _thought _of losing Scott. He was his best friend, his _brother. _He would never do that.

A shrill ring interrupted is spiraling thoughts. He's silent as his head turned towards the small device that blared a familiar tune, a furrow formed between his eyebrows before he gathered the phone in his hands.

It was Lydia's phone.

_Unknown Number Calling_

He shouldn't answer it…after all, it wasn't his phone. It was Lydia's, it would be rude if…-oh, screw it. His fingers worked quickly as he pressed onto the Talk button and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Yellow?" He nearly slapped himself then and there. Who the hell says yellow into the phone?

_"A-sorry…-I'm looking for Adelaide?" _A soft voice echoed through the phone, her words were chopped and her voice cracked nearing the end, but what stood out above all was the urgency. His eyebrows lowered and a crease formed between them as he began to realize it hadn't been Lydia's phone, it was Adelaide's.

"I'm sorry, uh-I'm a…friend? She left her phone here…and-uh, do you wanna leave a message?" He swallowed the thick saliva that had gathered in his mouth. Adelaide was going to _kill _him.

_"Y-yes! Please, please, it's urgent. I need you…-" _She paused for a second, and he imagined she was probably catching her breath or something, but it didn't matter because a slow confusion was rising in his mind. _"Tell her it's Krystal, from New York." _

Her voice was edging towards hysteria as he struggled to come up with a viable answer. "S-sure, is that it?" He didn't know what to say, or what to do. One minute he was struggling to go to sleep because he was still hyped up on adderall and next he was answering Adelaide Martin's phone and trying to contain the urge to hang up on the hysterical chick on the other line.

_"Tell her it's about Dylan, it's urgent, and it's about Dylan. Please._"

Then, the line went dead.

"Okay, then…" he set the phone back on his nightstand and struggled to comprehend what the hell just happened. Krystal, a friend of Adelaide from New York, called and basically yelled hysterically for Adelaide because of someone named Dylan. And it was urgent. New thoughts were spiraling around his mind, working him up as he lay back down.

Stiles had heard all the rumors of Adelaide's abrupt leave. Some said she was pregnant, some said she was sent to boarding school, he never knew what was real and he honestly never really cared, but he had to admit that his interest was piqued.

Who was Dylan? What was it about this Dylan person that had Krystal on the brink of completely losing it? And most of all...

How the hell was Adelaide Martin involved?

* * *

**MUAHAHAHAHAHA**

**so there's stiles, getting a cluee about what happened in New York (; really hope i got his personality right lmao, he's surprisingly difficult to write. So, do you think he'll he tell Adelaide? will he forget? what will happen next? and what about richard's failed attempt at shoving his claws into Addy's neck? stick around and you'll find out. damn, that sounded like a freaking commercial lmao. btw, i really hope you guys liked the teasers! i'll def keep them up and send them to those who review :D ****also, sorry if i didn't make this clear in the last chapter, but Addy's mom is in the know. OHHHH. Guys, I have a tumblr dedicated to this fic, and i do post about it and i do love messaging you guys, so if you want to, you can follow me at _fanficbri_ (:**

**DOES ANYONE WATCH THE 100? bc it's on today…and holy shit i'm excited**

**BTW I HAVE A SURPRISE FOR YOU GUYS! but that will be revealed next chapteeeer ;)**

**xoxo Brii(;**


	15. Dining With A Killer

**IM SORRY OKAY? I took forever to ****update, ik ik ik, i'm sorry my loves D: but hopefully this chapter and the next make up for it sorta kinda, and the teasers and sneak peeks and banners and stuff i put on tumblr (: BTW THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS! I LOVE YOU GUYS AND I WISH I COULD RESPONDO GUESTS SO BAD BC YOU'RE SUCH A SWEETIE ): **

**Outfits are on my profile, and make sure to read the AN at the bottom :D  
**

**Cameron: Thank you! ;D I worked really hard on it, so I'm glad that you liked it! And don't you worry, that'll come soon (:  
Guest: Please don't die! You need to find out what happens next ;D Dinner w/ the Argents coming right up, and that will be coming pretty soon too ;D  
Tayy: Ahh! Thank you, I'm so happy to hear that you love it so much! :D**

**Chapter 15**

Adelaide didn't know sleeping could be such a grueling task until the nightmares that plagued her mind had returned. Sure, she'd gotten her full 8 hours, but within those eight hours there were dark hallways that lead towards her darkest secrets. The sun peeking through the curtains wasn't what woke her up, it was the smell of death and the sticky blood she still felt on her fingers from her nightmare that did.

It bothered her, but not as much as it used to. She didn't feel a fear so crippling that gripped at her heart and squeezed so hard it felt like she couldn't breath like it was when she was just a kid. She was used to it now.

Her bare feet padded against the cold marble floor, little to no noise was made as she walked quietly into the kitchen with still blurry eyes and a rat's nest sitting atop her head. She walked into the barren kitchen, or at least, she thought it was empty. Until the sound of metal scraping agains glass nearly made her jump out of her skin. She turned towards the culprit and her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. She rubbed at her eyes with fisted hands as she stood with a grey, oversized t-shirt and her batman sleeping shorts.

Derek Hale, 23 year old intimidating brooding master, was sitting on a stool eating Lucky Charms out of a princess bowl.

His gaze was trained on her and his eyebrow arched and his eyes dancing with amusement as she stood there gawking at him.

Adelaide looked down at his bowl and back at him, repeating the action again and again before walking out and coming back in. The same amusement lingered in his eyes and he was still eating of the same princess bowl.

"So, this isn't a dream. You're really eating Lucky Charms out of a _princess_ bowl?" Her voice was raspy as the words tumbled out of her mouth. Her face contorted before a small chuckled escaped her lips. "How _cute_."

He scowled as another chuckled passed her lips. "It was the closest bowl."

Adelaide pursed her lips and looked towards the cabinet that held plain bowls and looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. "Or you're secretly in love with Snow White. _Yuck, _by the way, Snow White freaking sucks."

Derek looked down the bowl and shook his head, something akin to warmth bubbled in his chest before he looked back at her as she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and all but guzzled it down. "You used to love princesses when you were little." A lost memory of the twins watching all the Disney princess movies in his living room as he babysat them was conjured in his mind.

"Uh, _no_. Wrong twin, dude. That was all Lydia, she just loved making me play with her." She closed the cap on the bottle and sat on a stool right beside Derek, watching as he snorted and grabbed the bowl to take to the sink.

"You're so annoying." He grumbled as he sat the dish in the sink carefully. "And I'm not your _dude_." He rolled his eyes when she only mimicked him in a high pitched voice.

Adelaide lay her head in the palm of her hand as the lack of sleep slowly caught up with her. She knew she'd be exhausted for the rest of the day and she wouldn't be able to take a nap. Not only because once she woke up, there was no going back, but because she simply felt it wouldn't be peaceful at all. A wisp of hair tickled her nose as it fell from the bun that had been torn apart mercilessly as she tossed and turned in her bed and she caught it with her finger.

"You good?"

Derek's voice reached her ears and she looked up from the colored wisp of hair to look back up at him. His eyes were focused on her bruised knuckles, his face pulled into a deep frown as though he were actually concerned. She let the curl slip from her fingers before clasping her hands together.

"Of course, are you? I mean…you _were _eating from a princess bowl. Snow White, nonetheless." Her lips pulled into a teasing smirk. "Who knew that self-proclaimed tough guy, Derek Hale, held a secret fetish for Disney Princesses."

He shook his head and a groan filled with annoyance left his lips, his eyes connected with hers and she could see a hint of amusement peeking just beneath the surface of his cold eyes. "How do your friends deal with you?"

"They're terrified of her." The voice came from behind them, heels clicked against the marble floors in the kitchen and sweet perfume wafted into Adelaide's nose. Lydia.

Lydia sauntered into the kitchen with her hair flowing behind her in soft waves and her eyes glinting the same way they did before the incident at the video store. It seemed she'd smashed all away into her own little box, too. Her lips were tilted upwards as her gaze landed on Derek, a cloud of relief showed in her eyes as she noticed he and Adelaide were actually talking. That meant he didn't hate them.

"I don't see why. She's like an ant. Small and annoying."

Adelaide rolled her brilliant eyes, her head tilting to the side as she stared at Derek with the same teasing glint in her eye. "Well at least I'm not eating out of a Snow White princess bowl."

Lydia covered her mouth to cover the snort that had unintentionally made its way out of her throat. She turned towards Derek with raised eyebrows. "You were eating from a _princess_ bowl?"

Derek sulked in the stool, a scowl replacing his amusement as the twins laughed at his misfortune. "You're both as annoying as I remember."

Adelaide paid him no attention and took another sip from her water bottle before glancing back at Lydia. A white skirt pleated around her thighs, synching at her waist as her floral top flowed just above it, brushing against the skin left untouched. Black Mary Janes were tight around her feet. "Isn't it a little early to be playing dress up, Lydia?"

Lydia's bubblegum pink lips pulled into an agitated frown as she glanced at her disheveled twin. "If you must know, I'm going out with Jackson. He's taking me out for breakfast." Her lips pulled back into a grin, as if just thinking about it made a light of happiness glow in her chest, and while it made Adelaide want to throw up in her mouth, she was happy for her. "And I'll be back before dinner with the Argents."

"The Argents?" It was Derek's voice that had rung out in the spacious kitchen and made the twins turn to him. "You're having dinner with the Argents?" There was a panic blooming in his chest, squeezing through his airways and challenging his control. Fire and death danced in his eyes as Kate Argent's face appeared in his mind. Her once sweet caress that burned his family.

Derek realized that his little cousins would be meeting the woman who single handedly decimated his entire family. The feeling of terror wasn't foriegn to Derek hale. Just thinking of her smirking face made his stomach twist and turn, the taste of bile loomed in the back of his throat. Derek closed his eyes for a second only to see flickering gargantuan flames that had consumed his family. His grey eyes snapped wide.

He must have been breathing loudly, for his two cousins looked at him like he was an extraterrestrial specimen.

Adelaide's perfectly sculpted eyebrows raised, "Uh...Are you okay?"

Derek cleared his throat and stood up straight, "Yeah. Indigestion." For a brief second, he wondered what the hell Richard was thinking letting his own _daughters _walk into the wolf hunter's den.

Adelaide looked over at him, her nose scrunching up in thought as Derek's panic was made visible for half a second before it vanished completely. "Do you know them?"

He cleared his throat, shaking his head as the twins looked at him through narrowed eyes, "No, I just…-it sounded familiar."

Lydia made a face, her lips pursed and her eyebrows furrowed before she shook it off. "Anyway, despite her grounding, Allison was really excited about it."

The icy hand of fear caressed the skin just above his spine as thoughts whirled in his mind like a tornado, destroying anything in its path. Including his filter.

"Don't go."

Adelaide and Lydia looked at him through confused eyes. Identical looks of surprise etched across their faces as his words processed and he could feel something stir in the pit of his stomach as Adelaide's lips quirked into the same teasing smile she wore before. Her hair, a wild mess, shook with her head as she chuckled lightly, Lydia joining soon after.

"You're kidding, right?" Adelaide stared at Derek, confusion swirling and mixing with the blue of her eyes. She saw something in his own grey orbs, fear maybe, she didn't know. It lingered for a second, but it was the longest seconds of their lives and Derek felt like his heart was going to fall out of his chest. The glint of the unknown in his eyes disappeared and Adelaide gulped any and all doubt she had down. Adding with an uneasy smile, "Ha-Ha. You made a funny, Der. Nice one."

Derek looked at them, realizing his mistake, but…he didn't care. He didn't want them to go, it would put them in danger. How could Richard let this happen? They were his daughters, his _family. _If they walked into the hunter's house, they'd be put into even more danger than they already were in. He could feel a bubble form in his throat as he fought the urge to tell them to stay again and again until they listened to him. The panic rose once again, his teeth grinding together in a small effort to keep from saying anything else. He had no more say in the matter.

The Hales were going to dinner with the Argents.

* * *

When Lydia got back from her date with Jackson with a frown on her face and her nails digging into the strap of her purse, Adelaide knew the date hadn't gone very well, and when she asked Lydia only avoided the question like it was the plague. Her eyebrows were drawn in and the crease that sat in between seemed to never smooth over through out the rest of the night.

Until they started getting ready for the dinner, that is. Her whole face lit up and her lips pulled into her usual bright smile, not because they were going to dinner, but because for once Adelaide was letting her do her make up. She'd decided that if Lydia wasn't going to give into her pestering about her date with Jackson, she might as well try to cheer her twin sister up with something she'd always wanted to do.

"Finally! I've been waiting so long to do this. A little eyeshadow and eye liner wouldn't go a long way, Ads. And some foundation, I can see you starting to break out. It's all that junk food, Adelaide." She prodded at Adelaide's face roughly, pulling and dabbing with different liquids and powders. Adelaide wanted to touch at her face and feel for any pimples. There was _no freaking way_ she was breaking out.

Lydia's mouth was set into a thin line as she concentrated on the task at hand; eyeliner.

"Ah, fuck! Ease up, Lyds!" Adelaide complained after being stabbed in the eye for the 100th time. She was sure she would look like a raccoon as soon as this was over.

"Well, if you would just stop _moving._" Lydia grumbled as she pulled the liner away from Adelaide's eyes. She'd never thought it would be so difficult to put some make up on Adelaide, but she should have known. Adelaide was the definition of difficult.

Her eyes scanned Adelaide's perfected face. The light dash of freckles that splattered across her nose and the tops of her cheeks were hidden beneath of a layer of foundation, the shine left by her face cream was eliminated with face powder, and the dark circles that had gathered beneath her eyes were concealed. Her cerulean eyes popped against the darker eyeshadow and light eyeliner.

Lydia's lips upturned, and after spraying Adelaide's face with a mysterious liquid, she let Adelaide stand up. "Now, let's go get dressed."

* * *

By the time Adelaide and Lydia were dressed prim and proper, the dinner was only 30 minutes away. Their mother had chosen the perfect outfits for the occasion, of course, and Adelaide was surprisingly okay with it. She wore the pink pleated skirt well, the scratches on her thighs were visible, but not so much that it would be the first thing they would notice, so that was good. She hoped. The top, although a little snug around her waist, was something she would wear even without her mother insisting on it. A black bustier top with straps to hold it up a little better.

An upside? The skirt was high-waisted, so that meant her scar wouldn't be showcasing at the dinner.

As she continued to stare at herself in her mirror, she noticed something from the corner of her eye. The silver chain glinting and shining in her eye; Laura's pendant. Her fingers reached for the pendant, fingertips grazing the smooth stone, feeling the dip of the carved in triskelion. The spirals were flashing through her mind over and over the night before, and it was then that she remembered what the symbol was.

It was the Hale Crest.

Her fingers wrapped around the stone, pulling it away from its holder as she held it in the palm of her hand. The heavy rock weighed heavily in the palm of her hand, a reminder of her dead family. A reminder that she was the only one that survived the fire, that she was the one that found Laura's body. There was a sudden piercing feeling in her chest, like a dagger slicing through her and she could feel something building in the back of her throat. Her hand clenched around the pendant stone as she felt the attack of emotion.

Adelaide's head snapped up, her eyes lingering on her reflection for just a second as she felt the emotion bubble in her throat. She forced it down, stomping and attacking it until it was stored back into the metaphorical box. She couldn't afford to get caught up in her own grief.

"Are you ready?"

She jumped, her heals clicking against the wooden floors, her hand instinctively reaching for the clutch she was bringing with her and placing the pendant in there.

Lydia stepped into the room, her heals clicking against the wooden floors of Adelaide's bedroom. Her head was tilted, her hair spilling down her shoulders in tight ringlets. She studied Adelaide carefully, her eyes scanning down the entirety of her outfit. Her lips were pulled into her mouth as she mentally checked every item of clothing that Adelaide wore. And then she grinned, her dimples and the whites of her teeth showing.

"Yeah, let's get going. I'm _starving_."

They walked down the stairs and towards the living room, waiting for their mother patiently as they talked amongst themselves. There was a question ebbing away at the corners of Adelaide's mind, snipping and chipping at her mind until the need to just ask overwhelmed her and the words tumbled out of her mouth.

"So…what happened with you and Jackson?"

Lydia's words halted, her breathing seemed to stop for just a second and Adelaide could _see _the hitch in her breath as she struggled to speak, and suddenly she wanted to take it back. Adelaide pulled her lower lip into her mouth, worrying the swelling flesh as the inner conflict webbed inside of Lydia's mind.

Lydia's mouth opened, there was a small tremble to her bottom lip that Adelaide wouldn't have noticed if she wasn't studying her closely.

"We got into an argument…I-we were talking about Lacrosse and how he might not be able to play because he has a concussion, and he just snapped. He was saying all these things, like just spewing them like he'd been holding it in for so long. He was blaming me for everything. Adelaide, I don't-I don't know why. He was so angry and I don't know why." Subconsciously, Lydia reached for Adelaide's hand, intertwining their fingers and squeezing. "And then I started to defend myself because I didn't do anything, and he just left. He left me in the parking lot, Adelaide. Alone." A big breath escaped her, a weight lifted from her shoulders and suddenly she could breath again.

Adelaide's eyes were brimming with anger, her jaw clenched as Lydia's hand squeezed her fingers tightly and she squeezed back. Lydia wasn't one to express herself, or to show vulnerability, she wasn't one to let others affect her as much as Jackson had, and he'd gone and ruined everything because his ego was bruised. He hurt her sister, maybe not physically, but emotionally, and that was quite possibly even worse. Her jaw twitched again and she could feel heat pooling in her face as Lydia finished voicing her story.

Her fingers twitched against Lydia's as one violent thought after another coursed through her mind.

"Jackson's…-he's such a fucking _idiot_. He's a fucking asshole with a stupid, ugly fucking Porsche, and I will make a thousand page long list of things that are horrible about him, but that wouldn't make you feel any better. And I don't know what will, other than I'm here, and I'll always be here. So fuck Jackson, because he's clearly not worth the calories you burn talking about him."

"You're right." Lydia let go of her hand with a small smile. "That didn't make me feel any better, but thank you."

Adelaide's lips twitched upwards into the tiniest of smiles, but she could still feel the fierce instinct to protect her sister from any kind of hurt simmering just beneath the surface.

"Alright, girls. Let's get going, shall we?"

Their mother walked down the stair case, her hand gliding down the wooden banister, manicured nails glinting in the dim light. Her 5 inch heals stabbed against the wooded staircase as her straight hair brushed against her neck, not one strand out of place. Her black Alexander Wang cocktail dress tight against her body, showing off every curve she'd passed onto her daughters.

Adelaide and Lydia followed after her as she walked towards the door and out to her car.

Caroline Martin wasn't a woman of regrets, no she didn't see the point of regretting something, the point of _guilt. _That may have been one of the only reasons she was composed, why she was walking towards her car with her head held high, getting ready to walk in the line of gunfire with her daughters right behind her. It would have been weak for her to deny the offer of having dinner with the Argents, it would have made her a coward, and that was why she said yes. And no, she didn't regret it.

At least, that was what she told herself as they drove into the darkness.

* * *

Heels clicked loudly against the gravel in the Argent's driveway as the walked up to the picturesque house. Goosebumps were rising above the surface of Adelaide's skin, a shiver raking down her spine as the cold air assaulted them.

Caroline looked at her eldest daughter's attire, her lip curling up in distaste as she looked down at the younger girl. "Adelaide, honey, your nails are _chipping_." Adelaide looked down at her nails, the red polish was barely cracking at the tip of her nail. Her tongue darted out to lick at her now dry lips before she bit down on it. "And why didn't you cover the scratches on your thighs? It looks horrible."

Adelaide pulled at the hem of the skirt, her knuckles white as the skin stretched over the bone when she curled her fists tighter around the fabric until she finally let go. Her teeth clenched as she looked down at the ground.

She could feel the heat of anger crawling up her neck and pooling the apples of her cheeks. She pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth, sucking and nibbling on the plump flesh before letting it go and lifting her head and staring straight ahead, ignoring her mothers words and ignoring the sting in her chest as her mother continued to glare disapprovingly. She knew she should have covered them up, they were scabbed over, sure, but they were visible.

Lydia stood back with her hands intertwined behind her back, her lip jutting out in a small pout as their mother belittle Adelaide with just one look. Adelaide was strong, she was strong willed and fierce, bold. Her personality made her stand out, but it seemed that with just the right amount of pressure their mother, she deflated entirely. Lydia knew the feeling like the back of her hand, and she would admit that there was a small bubble of resentment that had been built against her mother for it.

Adelaide hated the heat that she could feel receding as she cool air nipped at her cheeks. She could still feel a cloud of indignation looming over her head and she wished it would go away because she was Adelaide Martin. Her mother's words were always the harshest, but Adelaide could handle it. She was the only person in Adelaide's life besides Alex and Lydia, that truly could get to her. Usually in the worst ways. She was used to it.

A knock sounded through the night as Caroline rapped her knuckles against the mahogany doors. The Martins stood straight, their heads held high, their spines straightened and their heals digging into the welcome mat. Adelaide's thoughts were immediately dispelled as her mother shot them both a look that said _don't embarrass me. _Mostly pointed towards Adelaide, of course.

Crystal blue eyes peaked through the whole in the door and Caroline put on a winning smile, her teeth shining brightly in the dimmed light and her lips stained to perfection.

The door opened, and the Argents welcomed them in with their own smiles. Adelaide felt a shudder crawl down her spine, like a spider crawling down her skin and pricking her with each step as their bared teeth glinted in the porch light. It was a smile, but it felt like a threat. The entire house felt like it was looming over her like a monster waiting to eat her, and the mouth was opening.

The thought left as soon as it came, but their too wide smiles and too happy eyes were creeping her out. It was just so _fake. _

"We come baring gifts." Their mother's voice was strong, never once wavering and her smile remained as she looked straight into the eyes of Victoria Argent. Her dainty hand, wrapped tightly around a bottle of wine, handing it to Victoria and she took it.

Adelaide and Lydia stood awkwardly, their eyes drifting towards the inside of the house, longing for the warmth that stood on the other side of the threshold as the cold air nipped and bit at them with renewed ferocity.

"Oh, thank you, this is lovely. Come in on in. I'll go ahead and call Allison down now, she's been so excited to see you girls." She walked back into the house with Chris Argent following not far behind. His only greeting was a small smile and a nod focused their way.

They walked past the threshold and Adelaide felt the heat pricking at her skin as the cold mixed with the warm. Her brilliant eyes wandered over the simple interior. Warm colors danced across the room, comfortable looking furniture sat idly by as they walked through the living room, following the Argents as they walked them towards the dining room.

"You have a lovely home." Caroline commented, her hands clasped in front of her as her eyes wandered from side to side, taking it in. The air was warm, but there was a presence in the house that was freezing and burning at once. She could feel it in the pit of her stomach as they walked further and further into the house, and for just one second she worried about her daughter's safety.

The thought left as soon as it came.

"Lydia, Addy, hey…wow, Adelaide you look different." Allison walked towards them with her dimples on show and laughter was embedded deep in those eyes as Adelaide scowled. Different hughes of chocolate swarmed in her irises. "Hello, Mrs. Martin."

Caroline offered another smile and Adelaide wanted to puke. There was too much smiling going around the house, all fake and only one real. There was something fundamentally wrong with that. They all took seats on the chairs around the dining table, a plate set in front of each and food set right in the middle. Utensils placed strategically beside each set of plates.

* * *

Only ten minutes into the dinner, and everyone was still quiet. Metal clanked against glass, forks scraping loudly against the bottom of the bowls as they all ate in the loud silence. The tension wrapped around them all, squeezing until one of them dared speak.

Adelaide's eyes darted from human to human, moving rapidly around the room, waiting for someone to speak. Her fingers tapped rapidly against her bare thighs in hopes of getting rid of the tension in her body. It didn't work. When their mother told them they would be going to dinner with the Argent's, awkward silence was not what she expected. Someone cleared their throat, cutting through the silence and Adelaide felt something lifting from her shoulders as she let out a breath of relief. _Finally._

"So, Lydia, how did you and Allison meet?"

Victoria's eyes pierced through the thick tension and settled on Lydia unsuspecting form, her eyes darted up, meeting Victoria's before a pleasant smile stretched across her face.

"She was wearing this killer jacket, and I thought if I became her friend maybe she'd let me borrow it one day." A joke that lingered on the tip of Lydia's tongue settled quietly before their chuckles permeated the air. The tension dissipated quickly as Lydia and Allison smiled at each other like it was all planned. Hell, it probably was.

"And you, Adelaide?"

Adelaide's tongue darted out to catch the bit of spaghetti sauce that smeared across her bottom lip, her eyes lifting to meet Mrs. Argent's. A smile was still on her face, her attempt at pleasantness flew passed Adelaide's head and she could have sworn there was a sliver of malice hidden behind those crystalized eyes of hers. She had crazy eyes, that was it.

"Uh…-I'm not really sure, actually. My friend Alex introduced me to her, and then Lydia came along. The rest is history."

"Oooh, history. My favorite subject." Another voice chimed in.

A woman walked up to the table, her face hidden by the glare of a bright light set in the hallway. It was when she walked out of it that she was revealed. Her blonde locks, curled to perfection, settled on each shoulder perfectly as her lips stretched into a grin filled with promise and mischief. Her hazel eyes sparkling in a way that seemed so natural as she glided towards the only seat available, next to Adelaide.

"Sorry I'm late, I was caught up in…" Her eyes wandered over the table, a secret hidden in within them that Adelaide found herself wanting in on. "Work." Her eyes settled on Chris' scolding eyes. "Oh, sorry, that was…rude. I'm Kate. Kate Argent."

The name left her tongue and striked at Caroline Martin like a whip. She didn't know _Kate Argent _would be at the dinner. She thought it would be a social evening that would impress the Argents and deem The Martins a family that was _not _a threat. That they weren't the supernatural beings that they hunt. Kate Argent being there changed everything. She may have turned out to be the most corrupt, but she was also the smartest. She could smell werewolf from a mile away. Maybe Richard was right, coming to the Argent's wasn't a good idea.

Not one bit.

"You two must be Adelaide and Lydia, and you…you must be Mrs. Martin." Kate Argent looked at her with a smile that would have convinced her if she hadn't known that that same exact smile painted on her face was worn as she watched their family burn.

"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you, Kate." The lie rolled off her tongue with no problem at all, a smile that wanted to quilt into a vicious snarl made its way onto her face. Her eyes stayed connected with Kate's hazel eyes, different hughes of green and brown swirling in their depths, an innocent facade concealing her wicked intentions.

"So, what were you guys talking about?" She turned to the rest of the table with her pleasant smile and twinkling eyes that Adelaide and Lydia mistook for happiness to be there, not the insanity it really was.

"We were talking about how the twins met Allison." Chris chimed in, his keen eyes observing Kate's every move. She moved her hair away from her shoulder, exposing the white skin of her neck, where a spot of blood could be seen. She had obviously been doing _something _she shouldn't have while out.

"Something wrong, Chris?" Her voice, raspy yet soft sounded through the dining room. Eyes daring and conniving in his eyes, but truly concerned in that of the teenagers. Her lips were tilted to the side, just enough for him to see the smirk he knew wanted to come out from its hiding place and he felt his eye twitch.

"Everything's just fine." He let a smile overtake his frown, his fingers skimming the curve between his neck and shoulder as he shot Kate a pointed stare. She caught on and wiped off any remaining blood. Her lips pursing as she struggled to keep the smile down. Chris shook his head.

"So, Adelaide, Lydia, Allison's told me _a lot _about you guys. She never stops talking about you, actually." Kate laughed as Allison shot her a look. A pink blush pooling in her cheeks as she shook her head lightly.

"All good things, I'm sure." Adelaide found herself punching in, a grin adorning her features as she popped a pea in her mouth. "We're angels." Her dimples appeared as Lydia scoffed quietly from right next to her, her hair jumping with her body as an abrupt laugh shook her body. She covered her mouth right after, embarrassment coloring her cheeks. Caroline shot the girls scolding looks, her eyes ablaze as their chuckles slowly dissipated and the laughter in their eyes slowly faded away.

Adelaide crossed her legs under the table, bouncing her foot back and forth out of habit as the room got quiet again. It didn't last long though

"So, how about you tell me a bit about yourselves? Allison mentioned one of you joining Wrestling?"

Adelaide's eyes lit up, her lips tilting up and pride blooming in her chest. She raised her hand, waving a finger in the air as she faced Kate with a grin on her face. "That'd be me, Adelaide Martin." Her striking blue eyes piercing through Kate and sparking a flame of recognition, but she didn't bother trying to figure it out.

"Nice. Tell me, how _empowering_ does it feel to kick those guys' asses?"

"_Kate!_" Chris scolded, his voice disbelieving and his eyes wide. Victoria only shook her head, her eyes closing momentarily as if she knew it would happen. Allison was smiling from ear to ear, warmth swelling in her chest as her aunt only grinned and winked.

Adelaide covered her mouth to cover the chuckles that wanted to escape, knowing her mother would scold her for something so petty. She couldn't help it, though, when she replied with a smirk on her face and a teasing glint in her eyes. "_Very _empowering."

Caroline glared at her through vivid green eyes, the glare enough to scare any man's testicles back into their stomachs, but Adelaide had gained a bit of confidence with Kate's presence for some reason and ignored her mother completely. Her tongue running over her teeth and lingering on her sharper than normal canines.

Kate focused on her grinning face and straight posture, the scratches the stretched across her knuckles that stood at as signs of violence. She could see the way her tongue ran over her teeth and she looked at her mother from the corner of her eye with defiance and Kate felt something stir inside of her as the actions all became familiar. Adelaide remind her of someone.

Adelaide reminded Kate of _herself._

"I remember when _I _wrestled, it wasn't my favorite but it was fun while it lasted." Kate spoke and the others slowly dispersed into their own conversations. Allison with Lydia, Chris and Victoria with Caroline - though their conversation was quite tense. Soon the awkwardness had faded.

"No way, you wrestled?" Adelaide's eyes were alight, amazed even. It seemed that Kate was actually pretty cool, not only but because she wrestled…there was just something about her that screamed 'Cool Aunt'. "Were you any good?" She tilted her head to the side, genuine interest coloring her features as they sparked up steady conversation.

"I was no Roman Reigns, but I was pretty good. You see, the key is staying alert. Be smart about what you do, feel for _everything, _and use every part of your body. In the end, you'll come out on top, you'll come out the hunter. And they'll come out the prey." Adelaide was entranced, her eyes falling into the hazel depths of Kate Argent. She spoke with conviction, every word seeming to ignite a fire within her. Adelaide's hand reached to tuck a bothersome strand of hair behind her ear, but instead her hand connected with the corner of the clutch she'd brought with her.

It tipped over the table and Adelaide tried to catch it, but it was too late. It had fallen to the floor along with its contents; the pendant. It hit the wooden floor of the dining room with a loud thump. She was quick in trying to reach for it, hoping that it wasn't damaged too badly or even at all, but it seemed Kate had the same idea. Kate had the pendant in the palm of her hand just a second after Adelaide reached for it.

Her eyes were focused on the intricate swirl of the triskelion, her manicured fingers pressing against the carved in symbol. A crease formed between her eyebrows as she studied the pendant. She looked up at Adelaide, her lips pursed.

"What did you say your last name was again?"

Adelaide's own eyebrows furrowed in confusion, her nose scrunching up before she answered, "Martin…" She held her hand out for the necklace, ignoring the intense stare being given to her by the equally intense blonde. "Thanks." The heirloom rested comfortably in Adelaide's hand, she looked down at it with a softness in her eyes as the Hale family crest sat proudly on the stone.

She didn't see Kate's calculating stare, didn't notice the ice that replaced the fire, and she especially didn't notice the suspicious gaze of Victoria Argent.

* * *

**kay, so this is all one big lame filler, and i'm sorry. so so so so sorry D; the chapter was too long and i had to split it in two, otherwise it would have been like a million words, and that's no fun x.x and it's still freaking long, you see what i mean?  
**

**but hopefully you guys kinda liked it? the next chapter will have STADDY! don't you worry my dears, it will have staddy and stalex, and richard, and derek and lil som'n som'n (;  
****GUYS! ik that lydia and adelaide's mom is different from the show, it's intended that way. I'm not following the original plot's version of Lydia's family like at all, so yeah their mom isn't going to be the same from the show. **

**bc i took 5ever with this chapter bc of school and life reasons, i left a few sneak peeks and banners, stuff like that on tumblr (fanficbri, followwwww:) also, i hope you guys liked the teaser, i obviously tweaked it just a bit haha, but i'll keep doing this review for a teaser thing bc i actually like giving these out ;D alright, SEE YOU NEXT TIME! **

**xoxo Brii(:**


	16. Life vs The Hales

**Chapter 16**

**"a day will come, when you think you're safe and happy, and your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth"**

**-Tyrion Lannister**

**Roads by Portishead**

Richard was worried.

Thoughts and scenarios reeled in his mind and it was driving him crazy. There was a humming in the air, a buzz of electricity that crackled and threatened to consume him whole as he looked between Derek and his phone. His feet were working a mile a minute as he paced from wall to wall, the only comfort provided was his daughters' scent that lingered heavily in the air. He could feel Derek's eyes, following his every move with his cold grey eyes.

Once again, he looked down at his phone, praying it would light up with a text, a call, anything that told him that his daughters were okay. "Why hasn't she called? She said she would call."

A once aggravating sound that invaded his ears and gave him a headache had turned into a whimsical ring that soothed him into a calm state; his ringtone. It blared loudly, but he found himself thanking the gods. His thumb slid quickly against the screen as Caroline's name popped up. A breath of relief escaped his lips before he put his phone to his ear.

As soon as one syllable on her end gets in, he's spewing questions like no other.

"How are the girls? Are they okay? Have the Argents tried anything? Caroline, I swear to god-"

_"Richard, calm down. The girls are fine, everything is okay. Kate Argent is here, though, and she's getting suspicious."_

Derek's head snapped up, his eyes piercing through Richard's head as he listened closely to every word that was said on the other line.

"S-suspicious? What do you mean suspicious?" Richard ground out. His jaw worked and his hand clutched tighter and tighter onto the phone. He could feel his teeth sharpening against his bottom lip and he could taste the blood as it danced on his tongue.

_"Adelaide has the pendant, Richard. The one with the Hale crest embedded in it. She dropped it, and Kate caught it...Richard, if she knows…-"_

Only once had Richard felt fear as suffocating as the one he'd felt in that moment; the day of the fire.

Scenarios flashed in his mind, one after another filled blood and loss at the hands of Kate Argent and her family. His own mind was slowly suffocating him, ripping him to shreds as the fear crept further and further up his heart and clutched at his heart with all of its might. He couldn't lose his daughters, he couldn't even be faced with the thought of losing his daughters without losing complete control.

His family, his daughters…they were his anchor, and if he lost them he lost himself.

The phone in his hand was suddenly ripped away from him, his heart matching the pace of his breathing as his eyes bled a deep red and his claws scratched against the denim of his jeans.

"Richard! Richard, you need to calm down…-" He heard Derek's voice clearly, but it only sent him further on edge, "-it doesn't help if you're losing control, you'll be completely useless if you do that. And you know what happens after? Richard?" He could feel Derek's hand gripping at his chin, pushing it too look at him and he fought the urge to rip his hand off. "Huh? You lose control, and we can't defeat the Alpha. If you lose control, you won't be able to save the people you care about, and deny it all you want but I know that's why you're here."

Richard looked into Derek's eyes. Worry, anger, and fear swirled in the grey depths of his eyes and he found himself clutching onto his anchor. He inhaled sharply, letting the sweet scent that came with his daughters invade his senses and sweep over him with a calming relief. They were okay, they were fine. His daughters were okay. He repeated those words in his mind, a silent prayer laced within the mantra. He closed his eyes, letting the growl in his chest fade away with his sharpened features as warmth flooded his veins and heat traveled up his neck.

His jaw went slack and he could feel the heat swirling in his body as the change receded quickly, leaving only an ache in his chest.

"I can't lose them, Derek. They-they're my babies, my daughters…I can't lose them." He opened his eyes and saw the eyes of a young man staring back at him. They were still swirling with emotion, and Richard swore he saw the eyes of a younger version of himself. He let a breath escape him, a sigh that expressed all of his worries. He clasped his hands on Derek's shoulders, his fingers were digging into his henley and he was sure his grip almost hurt, but he needed to let Derek know.

"I can't lose you, either."

* * *

"Well, that was fun. We should totally do it again."

Adelaide was sitting in the back seat, her hands clasped together on her lap as she spoke sarcastically. The truth was, she hated it. Allison's parents were not only extremely intense, but they asked way to many questions. They were like dogs fishing for a bone, and Adelaide didn't know where the fuck it was. The whole ordeal had managed to worm into her head and put her in an even worse mood. Not only that, but her aunt was a different situation entirely.

Maybe it was they way she smiled about everything like it was the funniest joke she'd ever heard, or maybe it was just because she kept looking at Adelaide like she was the bone.

Of course, there was the beginning where Adelaide loved Kate. She was cool, funny, she was in Wrestling. But something switched the moment she'd dropped her pendant. For the hour that remained after that, all she could feel from the brazen blonde was akin to enmity.

"Oh, come on, it was fun. I liked it, Allison's parent are-"

"Weird? Intense? Unnecessarily interrogative? Yeah, I know. Actually, the only kind of cool person in there was Kate, and even she got weird after a while. I mean she's still cool, but she's weird. Maybe it's an Argent thing. Except for Allison, she seems to be the only normal person in that family. Oooh, you know who was the worst? The mom. I'm pretty sure she's a serial killer. Her eyes are like literal freaking blades. Talk about creepy." Adelaide rambled on, her eyes moving towards the window as they drove passed the preserves. There was a red light in between the trees, beckoning her into the darkness, but it went as soon as it came. Her eyes drifted back to into the car.

She could hear Lydia rolling her eyes from the front seat, twirling a stray curl around her finger as she wondered what the hell she did to get a sister like Adelaide freaking Martin.

"Adelaide, she's not a serial killer, and if she was, I'm 99.9 percent sure she wouldn't come after you."

"There's still a 0.1 percent chance she will, Lydia."

"Girls, that's enough."

Their mother's voice cuts them off like a knife slicing through air. There was a coldness in her voice that had been there for a while, and the girls immediately quieted down. She'd been in a worse mood than they'd ever seen her, and that was saying something. Her plastic smile was long gone.

Adelaide knew her mother held at least a small bit of resentment towards the young blonde, it made sense. Kate Argent was the epitome of everything her mother hated. She was all smirking lips, leather, and violence. Or at least, that was what she made herself seem like. And at first, Adelaide was into it, she thought she was actually pretty cool. Well, she still thought Kate was pretty cool, but there was something about her that didn't sit right as soon as she caught sight of the pendant.

She licked her lips, thoughts reeling in her mind as she leaned back against the seat in her mother's car. She didn't know what to think of her family, really. They were the complete opposite of her own. They were happy, normal…organized.

Most of Adelaide's family was dead, the others were alive but they were far from normal, far from happy, and a chaotic mess. Maybe that's why they put her on edge, because they had what she didn't. Maybe it was because she wanted the normalcy they held. Their happiness.

She wanted her family back.

* * *

After another hour filled with rage and crippling fear, Richard couldn't take it anymore. His hands were shaking and his eyes were losing focus, he had to do something. Whether it be storm into the Argent's house and rip his family away from the grasp, or take a walk, shift, or something that didn't mean a bloody war, he didn't know. All he knew was that his feet needed to be moving, he needed to feel wind sifting through his hair, his fingers needed to be kept busy somehow, he needed to…-he needed to go for a drive.

"I'm going out."

Derek looked away from the piece of art mounted on the wall, mist rising above the ground, the moon full and standing against the night sky in the background. The delicate strokes were clear, but there was something haunting about the picture. There stood a shadowed figure that somehow managed to look alone, angry and pleading all at once, that was when the stroked grew angry and harsh. He never thought he would ever relate to a painting until he saw it mounted in the hallway's wall.

His grey eyes followed Richard's every move. His breathing patterns were uneven still, but he remained in complete control. His canines never became pointed and ready to tear through flesh, his keen eyes didn't flash their dangerous red, his claws weren't threatening to rip into someone's throat. On the outside, he looked fine.

But he wasn't.

Derek could smell the acrid scent that came with fear, he could see the tremble in his fingers as he paced between the rooms that carried his daughter's scent. He could hear his rapid heartbeat like it was right next to him. He wanted to tell Richard he shouldn't go, that he shouldn't be out in the condition he was in, but he didn't. Not because he was afraid, but because he knew that if he stayed any longer…it would get worse. So all he could do was watch as he walked down the stairs and towards the door.

Richard walked right out of the door. The cold, night air nipped at his face and any exposed skin, but it didn't effect him as he rushed right to his car. Instead of running through the forest while there were hunters in town, ones that weren't currently in the Argent household, he would do something that would hopefully help calm him down. He would go see his brother.

_Peter Hale._

* * *

After getting home, Adelaide had decided to head right on to Alex's. She'd been neglecting him lately, keeping him at arms length to keep him from the trouble that was The Martin/Hale family. It was more than that, really. She'd been keeping him at arms length since the day she'd gotten back from New York. Why would she? She couldn't understand the nagging in the back of her mind, or the ache that pounded right against her sternum whenever she thought about it. She couldn't understand any of it, so why should she have Alex try?

She halted in her steps as she walked down the pathway towards Alex's house, her thoughts were taking on a route of their own, and she didn't want to go down that road. There was an ache in her chest just at the mention of New York, what would happen when she really faced it?

Adelaide wasn't good with loss. Her heart sped up and her hands started to tremble at just the thought of it. Loss was absolute, there was no going back when someone was dead. It was the pain of burning skin and breaking bones multiplied by a thousand. It destroyed people, killed some, and she didn't want to burden Alex with hers. Not after all he'd done for her.

Her cerulean eyes peered up at Alex's house. The moon shone high above it, reflecting in the windows covered by velvet curtains. Her tongue darted out to moisten her dry lips as she walked up the steps and knocked on the door. She could have just went in, but considering the time it wouldn't have been an entirely good idea.

She could hear the steps as they got closer and closer to the door, she waited patiently. The door opened and her frown relaxed, a glint suddenly appeared in her eyes and her lips pulled quickly into a smile. It was Alex's mother.

"Adelaide! I've missed you, hon, where the hell have you been?" Her warmth engulfed Adelaide, honey blonde hair squeezing into her face as the tall woman embraced her. Adelaide could feel something in her heart, it was warm and it was cozy. She wanted to nuzzle into it and feel the glow it provided as Linda Devereux hugged Adelaide Martin like she was one of her own. She inhaled her sweet scent, felt the soft cloth of her sweater against her cheeks as she burrowed her face into her shoulders and hugged her back.

Adelaide let her go, dismissing Linda's reluctance and looking up at the beautiful woman with a brittle smile of her own. "Oh, you know, spent a little while here, a little while there. It was wild." Linda's laugh was like chiming bells on christmas morning, her smile was toothy and cheerful yet full of wisdom. Her eyes were the color of molten chocolate, a sincerity in them that she'd only ever seen in Alex.

"Don't talk such foolishness, you're only 16. The only here and there you'll be going to is School and the Library, got it?" Her voice came out as a soft command. "How have you been? I haven't seen you in 5 months." Her french lilt came out with the word, smooth and graceful as she spoke. The familiar accent in her voice made Adelaide's heart warm the tiniest bits. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed her, either.

"I've been great, you know, just…hanging out, I guess." Linda shot her a pointed look, her dimples appearing once again as she pulled her lips in and gave Adelaide a small nod to go on. "And I'm trying out for the Wrestling Team this year, again. Well, I mean, technically I don't even have to try out. I'm already in, but you know…Coach wants everyone to try out for some reason."

"That's brilliant, I can't wait to go to one of your matches." Adelaide felt something swell in her chest, a feeling she'd always familiarized with Linda. "I bet you're going murder them." Linda's enthusiasm was amusing to Adelaide, her smile was widening and her eyes glowing brighter. "Well, not really. But, you're going to great out there, love, I just know it."

"Ma? Who's here?" Alex's deep voice called from up the staircase, his footsteps bounding down the stairs as he followed their voices. He stepped down completely, his eyes widening and a smile that matched Linda's perfectly settling on his face. He was in only his boxers, but it was nothing Adelaide hadn't seen before. "Addy, what's up? You spending the night?"

"If that's okay with you, Linda?" Oceanic eyes peered beneath batting lashes, lips pulled down into a pout as the woman shook her head and smiled with her eyes and lips. She nodded, her honey blonde hair spilling over one shoulder as she turned to look at Alex with reprimanding eyes.

"Alexander Devereux, we do not walk around in this house half naked. Go put some clothes on right now."

"It's just Adelaide, we used to take showers together, Ma." He insisted, his feet sunk into the carpet in his living room, his toes curling around it as he shot his mom a charming smile. She only shook her head as he took Adelaide's small hand, his thumb running over the quickly fading scratches on her knuckles as he ran them up the stairs.

"Please stay quiet, I've just put Jake to sleep. Make sure to brush your teeth!" Linda called out, but Alex ignored her and Adelaide chuckled. Their feet thumped against the stairs and down the hall towards his bedroom. She relished in the feel of his warm, big hand encasing her small, cold one. Her eyes roaming over his face as he opened the door to his room eagerly. He seemed excited, happy almost.

"What's up with you?" Adelaide's lips twisted up into a small grin, her fingers tightening around his as they planted themselves face down on his bed. She kicked off her sandals, wiggling her toes on the Alex's soft blanket. Her eyes wandered over the room, his scent engulfing her senses.

"Just glad your here." He looked at her from the corner of his eye, focusing on the hesitating tilt of her lip, the fingers that squeezed at his and the uncertainty hidden in her eyes. "And wondering why. I mean, you haven't spent the night in like…3 weeks. What's up?"

Her eyes drifted downwards, her shoulders slumping as she pulled her lips in and tried to put her recent thoughts into words.

"I just…realized something." She began, "I've been…ignoring you, I guess. Just, not paying attention to you, or talking to you as much, and I realized that I'm a complete fucking asshole for doing that, you know? Because you're literally my only friend, you're my family, my brother, and I've been treating you like complete shit." She took a deep, shuddering breath. It felt like something was weighing off her shoulders and she wondered that if it would feel the same to talk about everything else that had been bothering her. She sat up, turning towards Alex and setting a hand on his chest, feeling the soft skin and the heartbeat the pulsated just beneath it. "I'm sorry, Alex." Her eyes, swimming with apologies and warmth, looked into his own.

He could feel something deep in his chest, a quake shaking his entire being as her words moved every inch of his soul. There was something bubbling in his throat. Her eyes were so sad, so…broken. They were deep, like the ocean and brightened by the light in his bedroom, but they shined with a deep abyss of emotion he didn't know she could ever let out. He breathed in through his nose, deep and disbelieving as he dispelled the moisture in that had gathered in his eyes.. "Adelaide…it's okay. You don't have to feel guilty, I get it…Lydia-she told me. She told me that your dad was back."

Adelaide felt like the oxygen had been stripped from her.

Something caught in her throat, a choked breath, a sob, who knew, but it hurt. Pain writhed in her chest as it struggled for one more beat. She didn't understand why she was so surprised, or why she was so hellbent on keeping the fact from Alex, but she was and his knowing made her heart ache. Maybe it was because she thought he would understand then that all she was, was a broken girl with daddy issues.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I-" She licked her lips, her throat aching for water and her fingers pulling at the soft blanket. She inhaled a deep, shuddering breath. "I don't know, Alex…I guess I just didn't want you to get involved in my stupid, family drama. I mean, who wants a best friend with daddy issues, right?" She looked away from his pitying eyes. "-and that look. God, Alex, I fucking hate that look."

"What look? Adelaide, that's the point. You're my best friend. I burden you with my shit, so you can burden me with yours. It's a two way street, and okay, I get it. You weren't ready, I understand completely, but…don't tell me you didn't tell me what was going on because you didn't want me to give you this look. I love you, Adelaide Martin, you're my best friend, my family. Your issues become my issues when you lie to me about them. Because then I feel like shit."

Adelaide was at a complete stand still. She understood what he wanted, she understood that he felt like she didn't trust him, but what she didn't understand was how she would tell him that she didn't know how to tell him anything. She didn't know how to tell him that New York wasn't really all that great, or how to tell him that she found a bit of happiness, but her happiness 5 seconds before it was torn from her grasp. She didn't know how to tell him that she was a Hale, or that she was in the fire, or that she was the only one that truly survived and how much she hated it.

She didn't know how to tell him because she didn't know how to accept it. She didn't know anything.

"You're right." She told him. It would be better that way, wouldn't it? It would be better if he felt she was okay, if he felt that he had nothing else to worry about. He didn't, she told herself. "I do…need to start telling you these things, and I will. I just, wasn't ready. Like you said." She pulled her lip in through her teeth and bit, hard. "But…I need you to understand, that…I can't just-I can't just-I-" She didn't get to finish her sentence because suddenly her head was buried in his chest as his arms wound tightly around her shoulders. Her breathing was harsh against his skin, her fingers trembling against his waist and her eyes shut tightly.

"I'm here for you, I'll always be here for you." His fingers, soft and soothing as they wound into her hair and pressed reassuringly against her scalp. He didn't know her pain like he wished he could, he didn't understand her thinking, her motive for everything she did or didn't do like he wished he could, he didn't know what he could do to help, but it was okay. It was okay because he was there, and in that moment that was all that really mattered.

She took another deep breath, letting the oxygen fill her lungs and his scent calm her nerves. Then, she let go. She let go of him, her trembling fingers leaving his warm skin as his own fingers left her unruly hair, the soft tresses brushing against them softly. "How did this become about me?" She laughed a bittersweet laugh, shaking her head and pursing her lips. "This was an apology to you, dummy. Accept it." Her lips tilted upwards into a soft smile, she let it linger and hoped he would give up.

His eyebrows were furrowed in thought, acceptance writhed within those blue hughes and Adelaide felt a tremendous relief in her system, flowing in her veins and sagging her shoulders. A lazy smile took over, her lips stretching leisurely as he spoke the words. "Fine, I accept your apology."

"You love me." She whispered gleefully. Her teeth were white and her dimples were deep as she smiled at him and he could feel a warmth start at the tip of his toes and flood his veins until it reached his heart. Adelaide rarely smiled like that and when she did, it was special.

"And you love me."

* * *

Richard was sitting in his car, staring at the hospital before him with sullen eyes.

His hands were wrapped tightly around the steering wheel as the hospital loomed over him with darkness surrounding it. There were people everywhere, cars passed right in front of him, voices calling from left to right, but somehow he could only hear his own heartbeat. He could only feel the flesh that burned through his own as he tried to take away his brother's pain, could only hear his daughter's screams, could only smell death.

In 6 years he hadn't seen his brother. Hadn't even seen his daughters, his family. A squeeze in his chest made his throat bubble with regret, but he could only sit there and watch as people entered the hospital fearlessly.

He realized he didn't know them, not anymore. They'd grown up. He didn't know his daughters because he wanted to protect them, because he wanted to keep them from the danger he knew followed him. His grip on the steering wheel tightened as his heartbeat sped up. In New York, Adelaide ignored him. He understood why, he did, but he really wished he didn't.

He wished he didn't have to leave, and he wished he didn't have to miss out on his daughters growing up. But he did, and now there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't go back, he couldn't do anything but accept it and try harder. Try to be with them, to understand them, to know them.

His vice-like grip on the steering wheel loosened, his hand reaching for the handle of his car so he could get out, and that was exactly what he did. He walked out of the car and into the hospital with his heart beating harshly against his rib cage and jaw clenching and teeth grinding. He walked up to the nurse at the informations desk.

Her red hair was pulled into a tight bun, beady eyes searching the files on her desk as her nimble fingers worked at filling out papers. He cleared his throat, swallowing back the tremor in his voice immediately as he asked to see his brother.

Peter Hale.

Her eyes widened for just a second, surprise and confusion mixing in those brown depths before a stoic expression settled and she let the way.

"My name is Jessica, I'm his nurse." She looked at him from the corner of her eyes, her shoes clicking against the limoneum floors. He didn't dare look back as his brother's familiar scent wafted up his nose. It was tinged with the illness that clung to every bit of the hospital, the death and ammonia stung his nose. "I've been taking care of him for the last few months." He looked over at the nurse, her eyes looking straight ahead and her posture straight and tense.

"Good." Was all he said. His fingers were twitching, his jaw was ticking and there was dread knotting deep in the pit of his stomach as they got closer and closer to the room. His mouth had gone dry as soon as they stopped in front of a closed door. This was it.

The door was opened by the nurse, her hand was wrapped around the handle and her fingers were tight around it, but she let go and he was suddenly faced with his own guilt.

His brother sat there with his head mounted on his shoulders, his eyes vacant and lifeless, his body still. Too still.

"I'll leave you two alone, now." The nurse said in a hushed whisper, making him twitch in response. He turned back to her and nodded firmly, accepting her answer and telling her to go. Her eyebrows furrowed and he could hear the click of her tongue, but she turned and he waited until the sound of her footsteps had long faded before he walked forward and stepped right in front of his brother.

**He wanted him to smirk his simpering smirk, to speak with his patronizing lilt, to smile with his eyes, to move, to live. He wanted to hear something other than the steady heartbeat that mocked him. A steady pulse that echoed in his ears.

His jaw ticked once.

He didn't understand why his brother was still alive, why Richard himself chose to keep him alive. He wasn't healing, he wasn't talking, he wasn't moving, he wasn't doing anything, but his heart was still beating and his blood was still flowing.

All that lay before him was the living corpse that was his brother, but he knew. There was something stirring within him, dread pooling in his gut as he stood closer to Peter. His steps were echoing almost as loud as his heartbeat as he stepped closer. The scent that came with pack wasn't there anymore, all there was left was the scent of a dying wolf and something underlying.

Maybe it was the scarred skin on his face, the marred flesh that still gave Richard nightmares, or maybe it was the heat the no longer emanated from his skin, but there was a chill in the air that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand to attention.

He ignored the strain that lingered in the air, he ignored the wolf that lay just beneath the surface of his mind warning him, and for once, he ignored his senses.

"I'm sorry."

The words were simple, the phrase held 3 syllables, yet the emotion dripped from them like blood.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't take you out on time, I'm sorry that you had to go through so much pain, and I'm sorry that I haven't come to visit you sooner. You're my little brother...-I'm supposed to protect you, and I failed you. Fuck, I failed you."

An ache that started in his chest spread in his veins like a wild fire. It burned through him and balled in his throat. It gripped and grew until he could feel moisture stinging in his eyes.

"I tried so hard..." His voice was hoarse as the emotion leaked out of his pores. "I tried to get to you on time, but Adelaide...she needed me." His eyes lingered on the scar that painted Peter's face. The risen skin that bubbled and boiled in his eyes, a pink tinge that only served to remind him of the blood spilled the night of the fire. "She was dying...I couldn't leave her. So, I left you, and I'm sorry for that, but I'm not sorry for choosing my daughter. I can't be."

And suddenly the world was tilting on its axis and a relief was lifting from his shoulders. He didn't have to feel guilty, he didn't have to feel a pressure in his chest when he thought of choosing his daughter over his brother because Adelaide Martin was a part of him. She had his blood running through her veins, and while he loved his brother, Adelaide and Lydia Martin were his life. They were his children, his daughters, they were his as he was theirs.

To feel guilt for keeping them alive was to feel good for leaving them to suffer.

"I love you, Peter, but...I love them more. I just wish it didn't..-" A crack in his voice split the words and made him clench his jaw. The bubble in his throat doubled in size. "-I wish no one had to die. I wish you were still here, and I wish...-I wish our family was still here."

But there's no more time to wish, is there?

His tongue darted out to moisten is drying lips as Peter's dead eyes only stared back at him. There was no reaction, there was mo expression, only a heartbeat of a living corpse. He gulped the ball that had formed in his throat down.

He willed the stinging in his eyes to go away, the gathering moisture was swallowed into the deep ocean that were his eyes.

Peter Hale was gone, so why was he still here.

After a minute of debate, he willed himself to leave.

His feet were heavy as he dragged them away from his brother, one step towards the door, two steps, three steps, and four steps until the handle was cold against his hand. The plastic wrapped around the metal to ensure the safety of children only felt like the end. The end of what, he didn't know, but he did know that if he left then and there, it'd be the last time.

"I love you."

The words came as the softest whisper and they lingered in the stale air. It was aimed not only at Peter, but his family. His sisters, his nieces, his brothers, his aunts, his nephews, his old pack. It was for those that once were, and loved just like he did.

He pulled at the handle, his footsteps echoing in the empty hallway as he left the building.

He didn't realize it, but Peter Hale was watching after him. His eyes following his every move as he turned his back, his finger twitching against the blanketed chair.

It was when his lip pulled up against the scarred skin, that simpering smirk appeared.

Peter Hale was there, and he was better than ever.

* * *

Adelaide and Alex were walking down the hallways early in the morning with matching sunglasses and identical scowls. After apologizing and proclaiming their everlasting sibling love to each other, they decided it would be fun to play a few games of Never Have I Ever. Their late night fun had taken a tole on them both, their sleeping hours down to 5 and that wasn't enough for the day they would have. Mix that with alcohol?

It was a school night, what the hell were they thinking?

With her hair up in a high ponytail, bags resting just beneath her eyes and her signature red lipstick she carried with her everywhere, Adelaide knew she didn't look great. Her stomach felt like it was caving in, and not from hunger. It was a deep seeded dread with a mix of nausea, remnants of her hangover. There was something pounding against her temples, reaching and squeezing at her brain until it popped, and just the smallest bit of light could make it happen.

"I hate alcohol." Adelaide grumbled beneath her breath, barely acknowledging Alex's grunt of agreement as they trudged towards her locker. Her small fingers fiddled with the lock, her eyes losing focus for just a second as she moved her sunglasses atop her head and light stabbed her pupils. She fought the urge to cry then and there. "So much."

"Stop talking." Alex urged, a whine in his voice as he leaned his cheek against the cool locker. Adelaide wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, yet hide in a dark little corner with her knees pulled to her chest where light and noise would never ever hit her when a sharp pain pulsed against her temple.

"Hey, Adelaide!"

A voice pierced through the air and through her head like a knife. It settled in the vessels in her head and nearly popped them. It was loud, it was boisterous, and it was Stiles.

"Fucking christ, Stiles! Do you have to be so loud?"

"I'm not?" The statement came out more as a question, his voice lilting and his eyes scanning her pale face as she sorted through her locker with delicate hands. Her jaw ticked and when the bell rang she winced. If it weren't for the very obvious sickness, he would have thought her as a werewolf.

"Dude, are you seriously hung over?"

"Stiles, can you please shut the fuck up?"

"Uh, Ads...-"

She felt the tug of her leather jacket, and turned around to face Alex. He was just as pale, his eyes were almost bloodshot and a pang of worry shot through her. He looked much worse than she felt.

"I'm gonna just...go to class."

She could hear the grimace in his voice, and she reached to pull his sunglasses down. Her fingers brushed against his messy hair, the soft tendrils tickling her fingertips. Her lips lifted at the corners as she looked up at him, and she ignored the pulse of pain that shot through her temples, reverberated through her head, and settled in her unprotected eyes.

"Good luck with Harris. He's definitely gonna tell you to take these off."

"I hate you."

"Bye now."

He walked off with a leisure pace set in stone. His head was low and his shoulders were hunched. Pity settled deeply in her stomach with another role of nausea.

"Okay...well, I kinda sorta found your phone."

Stiles' voice sounded right by her ear, a piercing screech that was really just a low mumble. The hairs on the back of her neck stood to attention as his breath fanned across her ear lobe. Goosebumps rose from the surface of her skin and she suppressed the shiver that fought to rake down her entire body.

He was far too close to be okay.

"One, back up, you're invading my bubble. Two, give me my phone. Three, if you went through my phone, I swear to all that is fucking holy I will pluck off every little hair on your head."

"Oh...my god. Has anyone ever told you-"

She turned, her hair slapping against his face and her stormy eyes settling on his. He reeled back as she held her hand out and pursed her lips.

"Give it to me."

He rolled his eyes as he pulled it out of his pocket, grumbling something beneath his breath that she couldn't hear. She felt the cool surface of her phone against her warm palm before she saw it sitting there. His fingertips brushed against hers as he moved his hands away and she saw him open his mouth and close it, almost as if hesitating to mention something.

"Uh...someone named Krystal called..."

She coughed. Each cough racking through her entire body as she choked on her own spit. A shock lingered there, pinching at her skin and poisoning her as Stiles stood there with a perplexed expression.

Adelaide didn't know what the fuck to do. Her heart was hammering against her chest and for a second she wanted to hit something, hit someone, just to see if she was really awake and this was really happening.

"W-what?"

"Krystal called?" Stiles eyes flitted over her paling face. Her lips were parted in surprise and he was sure if he had Scott's super senses, he'd hear her heartbeat hammering against her chest. Eyes wide with near-horror and disbelief, she stuttered for a response. In his entire life, he never though he'd see Adelaide Martin a state of panic, and if it weren't for the way her eyes were pointing from object to object, or the harsh breaths and rapidly rising chest, he would have found it amusing.

"What-what did she say?"

"She said it was about Dylan. I don't really know what she..." But she couldn't hear him anymore, all she could hear was the echo of his voice pounding in her ears.

Dylan

Adelaide could feel the pressure in her chest, like a boot was crushing her beneath its weight. It was like her heart was struggling for the next beat, yet the beating against her sternum was rapid. It was in her entire body, pulsing and throbbing. Her head was splitting, and her throat was bubbling with the need to breath.

"Woah, Adelaide, hey...are you okay?"

His face was suddenly in front of hers, their eyes connecting. Recognition was steady and flowing with hues of gold and brown in his eyes, and he started speaking. She didn't know what he was saying, and she didn't care enough to find out. All she could hear was the hum of his voice, all she could see were the newly revealed flecks of gold and green in his eyes. She could see him, and only him.

She separated the moles scattered across his face, and her eyes wandered to where they disappeared beneath his shirt.

"You're okay..." she heard the whisper clearer in her mind, and the pressure was slowly relieving. The pounding in her ears was receding and she could hear again. She could breathe in the cheap perfumes and aging text books.

Stiles' face was right above hers, eyes filled with concern she didn't know he could point towards her. She noticed they'd been backed into a corner beneath the staircase and a broken sigh escaped her.

"You're okay." His lips moved as he spoke and she focused on them for less than a second, trying to make out the words and listening with keen ears as they were spoken softly, yet clearly.

They were close again. Really close. She could feel the heat emanating through t-shirt, and she noticed a warmth on her shoulders, a weight that anchored her to the ground, more importantly to the earth. His hands were weighed down on her shoulders and she shrugged them off.

He got the message, though, and backed away from her. Red spots blotched his skin, a steady blush.

"I...uh-are you alright?"

No, she wasn't. He'd told her that Krystal called about Dylan. Dylan, who was her friend, Dylan, who took care of her. Dylan, who was her first real relationship.

Dylan, who was dead.

No, she wasn't alright, and no, she wouldn't tell him that. Because he was Stiles Stilinski, and she was Adelaide Martin. They hated each other, or at least they had a very strong dislike for one another, and the only thing she could say was, "I'm fine, thank you." He was just another person, besides, what business of his was it, anyway.

And the last thing she did, was gave him a small smile. It lifted at the corners of her chapped lips, but that was it. It didn't reach her eyes, and it didn't show her dimples.

All it did, was made him realize something.

Maybe Adelaide Martin was just as human as everyone else, and maybe, just maybe, they were more alike than anyone could have thought.

* * *

Last night was a night Richard couldn't get out of his head. It was like a broken record, a seed embedded deep in his mind and the plants were growing. The thing was, the plants were poisonous, just like his thoughts. They were dangerous and dark, an anger throbbing harder and faster against his ribcage.

Caroline may have been blaming everything on him, using him as a scapegoat for her own personal issues, but he didn't like it. He didn't like the stab of her words, didn't like the glaze in her eyes whenever she mentioned his leaving 6 years before. The words that left her mouth were like a never ending fire, spitting and burning him. They were flames that grew higher and higher with each sentence she muttered.

And none of it was true. They were all lies fabricated to protect herself. A life in denial was one she lived thoroughly and expertly.

She ought to know that he hated fire.

The whiskey burned down his throat soothingly, his jaw unhinging and clenching right after. He could feel the alcohol warming in his system for a second or two before it was burned away and he was cold again. So, he took another sip.

"You're angry."

Caroline's voice is like kerosene, bidding him further into his anger. Heat was crawling up his neck and he knew she wouldn't last a second if she spoke a word about their daughter's safety.

"This wasn't supposed to happen. We were supposed to go, present ourselves as people that aren't the enemy, I didn't think they'd get-"

"-suspicious?"

Even he could hear the darkness lurking in his voice, the predatory growl that was crawling just beneath the surface. His daughters meant more to him than anything, they were his pack, his...they were his.

He tossed back the rest of his whiskey, slamming it back down on the table as he stood quickly with fisted hands and tense muscles. "You didn't think about what this could do. You didn't think that this could put out daughters, our family, in danger. Caroline, you DIDN'T THINK!"

Heat crawled up his neck and encased his body as words tore from his throat and deep growls merged with everything he said. His eyes were burning, a red tinge starting in the pupil as he trembled with rage and fear.

"They're hunters, they're killers, they kill werewolves! I'm a werewolf, Caroline. And you know what? Lydia and Adelaide carry the werewolf gene. They're Hales, they're of the supernatural realm. What made you think that any of this would do us good? YOU PUT OUR DAUGHTERS IN HARMS WAY!"

"I WANTED TO PROTECT THEM!" Her scream was shrill, but it echoed like thunder. Her entire life was dedicated to her children, and to have him say that she didn't care, that she wasn't doing anything for them, was wrong. It made a fire rage in her blood and sear through her veins. She was a bomb at that point, and she was ready to explode. "I wanted to protect them. I wanted to take away from their suspicion-"

"They were never suspicious in the first place! They never thought of our family as anything less than normal, and you've gone and fucked it all up." A low snarl escaped his throat and she reciprocated with a glare that could set anyone on fire.

"You should have never come back." Her voice had changed, then. What was once a yell filled with rage, was quieter. It held whispers of dark promise. "You left once, you left us in a time of need, you left us and came back. You ruined everything, again. Everything was fine, perfectly fine, before you came back. Everything was normal."

He reared back as if he'd been slapped. His lips lifted over his teeth and his fists clenched. His jaw was ticking as his fangs struggled through the flesh that held them back.

"How the hell would you know, Caroline? You were never here. You were never with them, never helping them. never being there for them. You were always working."

Her breathing became ragged as his words shook her to her very core. A clenching in her gut and a pool of liquid anger boiled within her. "I work to provide, to be here, unlike you. I didn't RUN AWAY LIKE A COWARD!"

"I TOLD YOU I WAS LEAVING! I TOLD YOU WHAT HAPPENED!" He took three deep breaths, the burn in his throat climbing up and up. "I told you why. I told you that the Argent's were after the rest of us, I did this to protect them, Caroline. My daughters, my family, you. You're not the only one that had to sacrifice their happiness. For fucks sake, if I had a choice, I would have stayed. If my daughters weren't going to die, I would have stayed. I left the people I love, the people I could barely live without, and almost died, to protect them." He moved to leave, but leaving her with those words didn't seem like enough. Rage was still holding him in its tight hold. He looked down at her trembling form, her hair framed around her face perfectly, eyes wide and enraged; wild.

"You think I just left and did nothing? Just sat on my ass and let my family suffer without feeling the pain myself? Even from New York, I did something. I lured every hunter in Beacon Hills the fuck away from my family, I killed people, Caroline. I became an Alpha, I had people watch for them, I did everything in my power to be there for them without endangering them."

It was like a bucket of cold, ice water had been dumped on her. Her wild eyes had dimmed and her lips were trembling. The harsh beating against her rib cage filled her ears, her shallow breaths mingling with his harsh words. They were like knives prickling into her spleen, digging further and further with every word. Every sentence was a weapon wielded specifically for her.

"What the hell did_ you do?"_

* * *

**SHIT. JUST. GOT. REAL.**  
**w/ richard and all, and addy ofc, shit will be unraveling pretty soon. okay, so i want to make something clear. This story is not centered around romance, it will never be centered around romance. Ofc, it'll be a big part with staddy and all that, there will be chapters in the future that are prob just pure staddy, but there is more to this story than just that. Ja feel? So, sorry if i'm really not…paying very much attention to that part, there's just so much I want to set in stone before i REALLY get into their relationship, and tbh it starts now. There will be more staddy from now on, hopefully, and i'm so very sorry it took so long, but like i said…i rlly wanted to establish my OCs into the teen wolf world first.**  
**That being said, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :D I'll be seeing you guys soon!**

**xoxo Brii(:**


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